Sticks And Snails
by Camerine
Summary: You know that rhyme? Sticks And Snails And Puppy Dog Tails? Well, what happens when John, Teyla and Ronan are turned into children offworld and are thrust into Rodney's care? FINISHED: 5.16.06 — EDITED: 4.2.07
1. Innocence

**Summary:** One day, while on a routine mission to check out a power reading McKay found, John, Teyla and Ronan are turned into four-year-old kids. What happens when their thrust into Rodney's care?  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Humor/Drama/Romance  
**Spoliers:** Probably every episode on Atlantis.  
**Pairings:** Well, I might hint at something, but I don't know...  
**Disclaimer:**I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — I**

"Do you know what it _is_?" Sheppard asked, leaning back against the stone wall and picking at his chocolate bar. Rodney turned around and rolled his eyes.

"No. But that doesn't mean it isn't _useful_."

"Do you know how it works?"

"No. But-"

Sheppard cut him off by throwing the plastic wrapper at him. It hit him straight in the head and the scientist glared daggers at the other man.

"Fine. I am giving you an hour."

"_One_ hour?" Rodney protested.

"Fifty-nine minutes and forty nine seconds ... forty eight seconds ... " Sheppard chanted, staring at his watch.

"Fine, I get it," Rodney growled, leaning down and trying to pry the door off of the control pannel ... at least he _thought_ it was a control pannel. The device was tall, maybe ten feet, and made fully out of stone. Near the top was a bright red eye. It glowed as soon as Rodney finally got the door off. Looking up in surprise, he realized it had returned to its normal maroon color.

Shrugging, he stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and reached his hands into the control door, smiling when he realized it was crystal controlled. He felt something hit the back of his head and looked back to see Sheppard lobbing peices of stick at him.

Grumbling, he turned back to his work, feeling at least five more sticks hit him. Sitting up suddenly, his hands hit something inside the device, making it cast a bright red glow across the whole room. Everything was lit up, showering the stone walls on each side of the room in the red glow.

The fire blew out as Rodney yelped and ducked down, covering his head when the device started making noise. As soon as the light had appeared, it was gone.

Rodney slowly stood up, looking around.

"Uh, Sheppard? Ronan? Teyla?"

As his eyes nervously scanned the now dark room, he saw only the outline of three people. Three _small _people. He gasped as a small cry was heard.

"It dark!"

Came the small, squeaky voice of a child. Grabbing his flashlight frantically, Rodney turned it on. As soon as the room was lit up, he gasped, nearly fainting.

"Holy crap!"

* * *

Rodney paced around on the dirt. How could this have happened?

Sheppard, Teyla and Ronan were now four-year-olds. He looked down when something small tugged on his pants. His eyes landed upon the recognizable crop of black hair on the head of the tiny boy that was now John.

"Mwister?"

As much as he hated kids, he had to admit, John and Teyla were kinda cute. However, the image of a four-year-old Ronan with dredlocks did not appeal to him.

"Yes?"

"I hungry."

"Well, I don't have food. But I have many, many problems. Want one?" Rodney snapped, causing John to shrink back in fear.

"No."

He ran back to his corner and sat down, pulling his legs up to his chest and trying to hold back tears. Teyla crouched down in the sand and picked up a small stick, walking over to Rodney and poking him with it.

"Mwister?"

"Yes?" he asked impatiently, taking the stick from her and poking her back. Teyla backed away and started running circles around him.

"Mwister? Mwister?"

"Why me?" Rodney complained, throwing his head back and sighing loudly.

"Why you, what?" Teyla asked, dropping onto the sand and holding her hand out.

"What do you want?"

"Stick!"

He sighed again and handed it back to her. Grinning, she stood again and walked over to Ronan, who was sitting on the ground throwing rocks at the wall beside John, who was trying to avoid them.

She reached out, poking him with the stick in the arm. "You look weird," she kindly informed him.

He turned to her and tried to take the stick from her, but she ducked and ran under his arm, poking him in the back before he could turn around. Giggling, she ran away, stopping near Rodney. Ronan started after her. Screeching, her eyes wide, she started running away.

Ronan was faster, and soon had taken the stick from her and broken it in half.

"You bwoke my stick!" She yelled, "Meanie!"

Running behind his back, she used both her fists to hit him over an over again. He was taken by surprise and Teyla got in quite a few hits before Ronan turned around and caught her by her arm.

"Lemme go!" She hit his hand and tried to pull back, but he had a tight grip, even at four. "Lemme go! Lemme go!" John, who was quietly sitting int he corner, walked over and placed a hand on Ronan's shoulder. In surprise, he accidently let Teyla go. She ran behind John and grabbed the two halves of her stick.

"My mommy said not to pick on girls," John said quietly.

"So?" Ronan asked, swatting his John's hand off of his shoulder and poking him in the chest.

"So don't pick on girls," he said firmly.

"So? What did your dad say?"

"He doesn't say anything. He just punishes me." John's eyes went dark as he said this. Rodney looked up in surprise; John had never said anything about his life as a child.

"Well, you're not a girl, so I can pick on you."

Ronon poked John again, making him wince and put his hand over the area he had been poked in.

"Meanie!" John ran off, Teyla close behind. She didn't want to stay where Ronan was. He was mean.

Rodney sighed, realizing he had to deal with this. Walking over to Ronan, he kneeled down beside him.

"Hey, Ronan?"

"What do you want?" the little boy said grumpily. Both of the people smaller than him had ran away, and now there was a giant standing over him.

"You aren't supposed to hurt people," Rodney tried. He had never done anything like this. Looking over, he saw Teyla sitting on the ground, playing in the dirt and John just sitting in the corner.

"So?"

Sighing, Rodney realized the only thing he could do would to be get rid of the kids enegry.

"Let's start back home."

John looked up in surprise. "I don't wanna go home! Daddy is home now." He looked back at the ground, playing with the hem of his jacket.

"Oh, believe me, Daddy isn't where we are going."

John smiled and him and Teyla ran over. They each grabbed one of Rodney's hands and Ronan just frowned. Rodney gathered together all the food from each of the packs and added them to his. He could only carry one pack, and would have to leave the rest behind. As they started walking, Teyla looked up at Rodney.

"Can you carry me?"

* * *

At least half way to the gate, Rodney walked into a small cave, dropping his pack and lifting Teyla off of his shoulders. John collapsed to the ground, his black hair sticking to his forehead with sweat from the hot sun. It was at least a hundred degrees out in the sun, so the kids had to stop often.

"I thursty," John said. Rodney handed him the canteen and he started gulping from it, not caring about cooties. Everyone was drinking from the same canteen. After he was done, he handed ot to Teyla, who handed it to Ronan once she was done. He finishd the rest of it, leaving Rodney without any whatsoever.

"We will have to wait until dark to finish our walk. We can't go back out there without any water." Rodney sat down, dropping his head back against the wall and groaning.

"I don't like the dark," John complained, finding himself another corner and crawling into it.

"Well, do you want to die?" Rodney said, turning to him. John shook his head, looking back at the ground. "Sorry. I am just a little stressed," Rodney apologized.

John nodded, still not speaking.

After a few hours of stick poking, it was dark enough; they started out again. Rodney placed Teyla on his shoulders once more and took John's hand. Ronan walked about ten feet away, not wanting to be near the giant. After walking for nearly four hours, they arrived at the gate. Rodney placed Teyla on the ground beside John.

"Stay here and don't get near the gate."

They nodded and Rodney dialed. The ka-woosh surprised everyone, and John stepped back. Rodney smiled. "Cool, huh?"

John shook his head. Rodney walked over, and after typing his IDC in, took their hands again. Ronan was bouncing up and down, wanting to go through the gate. He and Teyla were not nervous, because they had grown up with the Stargate in their lives. John, however, didn't remember ever seeing it and he tried to pull back.

"No, no, no!" the little boy squealed.

Rodney stopped and turned to John.

"What's wrong?"

"I scared!"

"It's OK, come on, the _girl_ is going through, too. Ouch."

That earned him a punch from Teyla. However, John still refused to go through.

"I don't wanna!" he protested.

Rodney sighed again.

"I'll give you candy," he suggested. John shook his head, still trying to pull away from Rodney. "_Why_ will you not go through?"

"I scared."

John started crying and Rodney gave up. He would have to use a puddle jumper to get the stubborn kid through the gate. Sighing, he stood and walked over to Ronan and started talking to him. John sat on the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest and rocking back and forth, tears slipping unnoticed down his face. Teyla walked over and sat down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"John?" she said. It seemed weird to Rodney because she barely ever called him John. "Why are you scared?"

He looked up.

"I dunno." He stopped rocking back and forth but still hugged his knees to his chest.

"I go through it a lot. It is not scary afer a while," she said, giving him a small smile. John still looked scared. "I'll go with you," she said. He looked up, wiping his tears away and sniffling.

"Really?"

"Sure. It'll be fine. And if I am wrong, you can poke me."

John shook his head. "I'm not supposed to pick on girls," he said quickly, as if he were scared. "My mommy says it's bad and daddy does, too."

"OK. Well," She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Then you can poke the big meanie." She pointed to Ronon. Neither she or John remembered him, and had not cared to learn his name yet. John laughed and wiped away the remainder of his tears and he and Teyla stood up. He walked over to Rodney and pulled at his shirt.

"What?"

"I go through."

"Really?" Rodney asked, surprised. John nodded and smiled, red tear tracks still present on his face. "Let's go then."

The gate had long since shut down, so Rodney had to dial it again. As soon as it opened, John winced and took a step back. Teyla walked over and took his hand. Together, the two walked through the gate quickly, Teyla not wanting to give John a chance to change his mind. Once on the other side, John looked around in awe. Rodney and Ronan came next, right behind Teyla and John. Dropping his hand, Teyla looked around the room.

"Wow!" she said. Her and John tried to run off and explore, but Rodney grabbed the back of their shirts, holding them to where they were running in place. Dr. Weir walked down the steps and spoke directly to Rodney.

"What _is_ this?"

"Oh, well, this is Teyla and John, and they have too much enegry, and this is Ronan. Kids, this is Dr. Weir."

Teyla and John chorused, "Hi Dr. Weir!" And, finally getting out of Rodney's grasp, started running circles around the older woman. She looked down at them, then back up at Rodney.

"Dr. Beckett to the gate room." She said weakly over the radio. Suddenly, Ronan stuck his foot out in front of John, making him trip. Falling flat on his face, John quickly stood up, putting a hand to his bleeding nose and glaring at Ronan.

Then he jumped him. Dr. Weir and Rodney each grabbed one of the toddlers and held them up, trying to keep them from hurting each other too badly. Sitting John on the ground, Rodney said firmly,

"What did you do that for?"

"He started it!" John protested, holding his shirt up to his nose, causing it to ride up, exposing old scars.

"I don't care who started it!" Rodney said, not noticing the scars. John started crying again, shrinking back.

"I sorry." He wiped his tears away, smearing blood all over his face. Rodney sighed. Teyla just stood there, looking from person to person. Suddenly, Carson appeared in the room.

"What the bloody hell?" he asked, staring at the kids.

"Don't ask me." Dr. Weir said, still in shock.

"Kids, that's what," Rodney said, sighing as Teyla and John began running again.

* * *

"As far as I can tell, they are perfectly healthy," Carson said. John was sitting on a large white bed, holding a cloth to his bleeding nose with one hand and drawing on a piece of paper Carson had given him with the other. Ronan was bouncing up and down on his bed and Teyla was sitting on a chair in the middle of the two. "However, I noticed some scars on John's back and stomach. I don't think they were there before."

"Well, where did he get them?" Dr. Weir asked, concerned.

"I think he may have gotten them as a child. Scars go away with time, so I suppose that these scars came from his childhood. Someone should talk to him."

"I'll do it," Dr. Weir volunteered. Carson nodded and went back to work. Dr. Weir walked over to John and sat down on the cot.

"Hey, John. What'cha drawing?"

He just continued to draw for a minute, finally looking up and showing the picture to Dr. Weir. She smiled at the childish scribbles. She could make out three people, but couldn't tell who was who. "Who are they?" She asked.

"Me, Rodney, and _her_." He pointed to Teyla.

"What about him?" Dr. Weir handed back the picture to John and nodded toward Ronan.

"He's mean. I don't want to draw him."

Dr. Weir nodded, deciding she should ask him about the scars sooner rather than later.

"Is anyone else mean to you?"

John nodded, but still didn't say anything.

"Who?"

He looked up, finally speaking. "My daddy."

Dr. Weir tried to get him to talk after that, but he wouldn'd say a word. Finally giving up, she walked back over to Carson. This was going to be a long debriefing.

* * *

I am making John's past up, since I know nothing about it and the show does not elaborate.

**_Please Review!_**


	2. Memories

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or any of the characters. As of **4/1/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — II**

Rodney groaned as he tried again to get John to eat something. The kid was as stubborn as ever. He was sitting at the table with Teyla and Ronan, who were actually eating PB & J without a fight. Arms crossed and eyebrows creased, John stuck out his tongue out and crossed his eyes as well. He now knew he could get away with that kind of stuff with Rodney, where as if he was with Elizabeth, he had to be careful.

"Please eat," Rodney begged, shoving the sandwich toward him. John grabbed the sandwich and looked at it, sticking his tongue out and licking the sandwich. Frowning, he took it apart and started eating the peanut butter half. Grinning, he disposed of the jelly half. Right in Rodney's face. Teyla started giggling so hard she choked on her sandwich and Ronan fell out of his chair. Elizabeth chose that moment to walk in. She laughed at the sight before her.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Rodney took a paper towel and wiped his face with it as John carefully licked all of the peanut butter off of the bread and got rid of it by dropping it on the floor. Teyla, unfortunately, was still on the floor, laughing. The sandwich fell right on her stomach. Screaming, she jumped up and ran in circles, hitting at the bread and trying to get it off of her shirt. Soon, it fell to the floor, smearing peanut butter all over.

"This. Is. _Hell,_" Rodney declared, walking out of the room. Elizabeth laughed at the sight of John with peanut butter all over his face. Ronan was quietly ripping his sandwich to shreds and eating them like one would a live animal.

"Come on, guys, let's go get cleaned up," Elizabeth said.

John burped loudly, causing Teyla to snicker and Ronan to laugh. Soon, the boys were in a burping contest and Teyla was rolling on the floor with laughter. Apparently, she was somewhat of a tom-boy. Just then, Halling walked into the room. John stopped what he was doing and wiped the peanut butter off of his face, waving at the man before he let out another big burp. This time, he beat Ronan by a long shot. Teyla burst out laughing but sat up straight when she saw Halling.

"Dr. Weir?" Halling asked, recognizing Teyla right away.

"Hallie!" Teyla stood up, peanut butter still on her shirt, and hugged Halling's leg. John dropped to the floor and started making patterns in the ground with the peanut butter that seemed to be everywhere. Halling lifted Teyla into his arms and frowned.

"What is going on?" he asked.

"Major Sheppard, Ronan and Teyla have all been turned into children. From what we can tell, they are all about four."

Halling's mouth fell open, just then realizing that the little, messy boy was the Major who had walked into his tent two years ago.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Sorry, no."

Halling looked down at Teyla, brushing his fingers through her soft brown hair. She looked up and him and smiled.

* * *

"So, they are children?" Halling asked, still not believing it. John was now sitting on the floor in Elizabeth's office, trying to stay inside the lines as he colored a picture of a car. Teyla was laying on the floor beside him, coloring the picture on the other side of the book. She had been so excited when Elizabeth had given them the book, and even more excited when John showed her how to color

"Yes. We don't yet know what caused it, or how to turn them back."

Halling nodded.

"I would like to bring Teyla back to the mainland, then."

"About that. I was thinking, would you take all of the kids for the weekend? We are going to be testing a new discovery, and it is going to wipe the power for an hour. John is afraid of the dark, and to be honest, Ronan really isn't the kind of kid to be confined to his quarters. He needs to explore," Elizabeth said, walking over and handing Teyla the brown crayon, because she was coloring her person's hair purple. Smiling, Teyla put the purple crayon in her mouth. Elizabeth bolted forward and took it from her, sticking it in her pocket as John started laughing,

"I guess I could take them. I have one question, what is Teyla doing?" Halling looked on the coloring book with interest.

"Coloring. On Earth, we have a book with already drawn pictures for children to color in. It helps pass the time and it is something fun for them to do." Just then, John finished his picture and, in very childish writing, wrote 'John Sheppard' on the top of the picture with a bright orange crayon. Teyla eyed the words.

"What you doing?"

"Putting my name on it so people will know I did it." He smiled, laying on his stomach on the floor beside her.

"Can I do it to mine?" John nodded and Teyla started scribbling her name at the top. Frowning, she looked up at John. "Could you help me?" Together, the two wrote her name on the paper. Smiling, they took the book and ran up to Elizabeth.

"Lookie what we did!" John said proudly.

"That's great!" She then leaned down in front of them. "Hey, John, Teyla, would it be all right with you if you went with Mr. Halling to the mainland for a few days?."

"What's _the mainland_?" John asked in a childish 'spooky' voice. Teyla also looked confused.

"It is where we live," Halling explained.

"Ronan coming, too?" Teyla stuck out her bottom lip, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes, he has to come," Halling said, smiling. Teyla was the same little girl she had always been.

"Phooy," John said. He looked back at Teyla, smiling. Both of them ran back and laid down, turning to another page in the coloring book and attacking it with many different crayons.

* * *

"Wow!" John bounced up and down in the front seat of the jumper, looking out to the ocean. He grinned and continued to bounce. Carson was sitting in the driver seat, trying to concentrate on not crashing the ship. John turned to Teyla. "Come see!" She ran up and got on the seat with John, looking out into the sky. Ronan just sat on the seat behind Carson without saying a word.

"Cool," Teyla said, grinning.

"Hey, Ronan, come see!" John said, sitting down on the seat. Teyla returned to her seat behind John and sat on Halling's lap. Ronan shook his head, sticking his tongue out at John.

"No," he said.

John looked down at his seat, playing with the tiny uniform he was wearing.

"When we be there?" John asked suddenly. "I gotta pee!"

Carson groaned at the four-year-old's outburst. "Thirty-Minutes," he replied.

* * *

The second they got to the mainland, John ran screaming from the jumper, trying to find a bathroom. Halling followed him, trying to direct the bouncy child to the right place. Soon, he found it and ran inside, grinning happily. Five minutes later, he came bouncing out, running in circles.

He was running too close to the large root system of an old oak tree, and Halling tried to warn him, but he was a second too late. John tripped, falling forward right onto his face. Halling and Carson ran over to the little boy, who was now sitting up, holding his nose.

"How many bloody noses does this kid need?" Carson complained, holding a cloth to John's nose.

John was still grinning. "Can we go swimming?" he asked, nodding toward the ocean.

"Not yet. First we need to get you into clean clothes and set up your quarters," Halling said, helping John up and taking his and Teyla's hands as he lead them toward the village. As soon as they arrived, several people met them.

"Halling! Who are the children?" One woman asked. Teyla grinned and ran forward, hugging her.

"Charin!"

The older woman gasped.

"Teyla?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"And John!" Teyla said, pointing to John, who was still holding the rag to his bloody nose. "And that's Ronan." Sticking her bottom lip out, she pointed to Ronan, who looked quite fine with being disliked. In fact, he was smiling.

"Charin, I will explain as soon as I get the kids room set up."

Charin nodded.

"They will all share with me and Jinto." Halling, taking the hands of John and Teyla again, led the three children to his tent. As soon as they were there, John ran inside, Teyla and Ronan close behind. Inside the tent was one large bed and a smaller one in the corner. They were both made well, the blankets spread over them carefully. Jinto was sitting in the corner, doing what appeared to be schoolwork.

"Jinto, are you done with your studies?" Halling asked. When he nodded, Halling grabbed the back of John's shirt, making him stand still. "Good, then I would like you to meet John, Teyla and Ronan. They are going to be staying with for a while. Jinto jumped up, running over and looking Teyla over.

"Woah! Is that really Teyla?" He was over a foot taller than her.

"Yes. Now, let us see if we can find somewhere for them to sleep."

* * *

Rodney paced in front of the table, waiting for Dr. Weir to arrive. Suddenly, she walked in.

"What do you have?"

"I know how to change them back!" Rodney blurted out. Elizabeth gasped, dropping into a chair. "When I was playing with the device, it detected an older presence in the room. The reason I saw the eye light up the first time was because it was charging its power. When the light went away it was because the device didn't want to warn the enemy, that would have been us, of what it was about to do." He paused and took a deep breath. "When it was finished charging, it shot out the beam that turned them into kids. I was crouched down, so the beam didn't hit me."

"But why would it turn people into kids in the first place?" Elizabeth asked, trying to take in all of the information that Rodney had just given her.

"I think the population was made up generally of kids, so when an enemy approached, they would be turned into kids as well, rendering them helpless."

"So how does this help change them back?" Elizabeth asked, very confused now.

"It doesn't!" Rodney said, still smiling and trying to catch his breath.

"So how_ do_ we change them back?" Elizabeth growled, very impatient.

"We bring them back to the planet, let it charge up, and while it is doing that, I will reverse the effects, and when it shoots...boom!" Clapping his hands together for effect, Rodney sat down beside Elizabeth.

"You can do that? I mean, reverse the effect?"

"Yes!" Jumping up, Rodney ran out of the briefing room. Elizabeth shook her head, standing up and walking into her office. Could he really do it?

* * *

John sat in the corner, his arms across his chest and his lip sticking out. Ronan was in the opposite corner, playing with the fabric of the tent. He and Ronan had gotten into a fight because Ronon had been picking on Teyla again, and John still firmly believed that you shouldn't pick on girls. Teyla had a bloody lip, and John had several bruises, showing he had lost the fight. Now, Teyla and Jinto were playing with the coloring book that John had taken with him. Teyla was showing him how to use the crayons and Jinto was having fun.

John sighed, placing his head on the ground and flatening his hands there to get into a handstand. He smiled and stuck his tongue out a Ronan, who had turned around and was looking at him. Halling chose that moment to turn around. Surprised, John fell, tumbling right into a well stacked pile of pots. They all went crashing to the ground, several breaking. John put a hand to his mouth, tears forming in his eyes.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to do it." He pushed himself as far back into the corner as he could, wishing he could just disappear. Halling came over, lifting a hand to grab one of the pots. As he did, John flinched and closed his eyes. Halling noticed.

"What is wrong, John?"

"Please don't hurt me," he said, not noticing the tears falling freely from his eyes. Teyla and Jinto had stopped what they were doing and turned to look at what was going on.

"I won't hurt you," Halling said. "What made you think I would?"

"_Daddy _does," John said quietly. Halling's face clearly showed surprise as he sat down beside John, moving the pots to the side.

"Your father hurts you?" John just nodded, looking at the ground. "How?" John didn't reply for a minute, scared. Halling placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"He hits me."

"For how long?" Halling asked. He had never known John's father, but any man who would harm a little boy had done something wrong.

"Since forever."

"Want to talk about it?"

John shook his head and Halling gave up. He had known John when he was older, and he was very stubborn. Smiling, he went back to cleaning up the pots. John helped, grabbing the broken pieces and putting them inside of a whole jar. Wincing as one of the pieces cut into his hand, John pulled back and stuck it to his mouth, sucking away the blood.

Soon, Teyla walked over, helping them pick up the remaining pieces. Once they were done, Halling said that Ronon and John were free to go from their corners. Ronon jumped up and went back to sharpening his stick. John just continued to pick at the ground.

"What did your daddy do?" Teyla asked. She was curious. John started slowly.

"He hit me, and my mommy. Sometimes he would use a belt." John pulled up the back of his shirt, exposing huge welt scars. Halling winced from his seat at the small table in the far corner of the room.

"Why?" Teyla sat beside him, putting her hands in her lap and playing with the string on the shirt Halling had provided her with.

"I don't know. He just does. The first time he hit me, I was two. I spilled my milk." John wiped more tears out of his eyes. Halling took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from marching over and demanding to hear the whole story. What kind of father hit a child for spilling his milk?

"Is your daddy here?" Teyla asked.

"No, Mr. Rodney said he wasn't."

"We can share a daddy!" Teyla said. Halling's eyes went wide. Teyla didn't yet know about her father. He had been taken when she was eight, and now she only remembered from when she was four. Sighing, he knew he would have to tell her soon. "Halling, were _is_ Daddy?" Teyla stood up and bounced over to him. He smiled a little and picked her up, placing her on his lap.

"Your father is not here right now, Teyla."

"Where is daddy?" Suddenly, fear took over Teyla. She had known far too many whose fathers had never come back. "Did those bad people get him?" Tears sprang to her eyes and when Halling didn't answer. She jumped up from his lap and ran out of the room. John looked over, surprised. Jumping up, he followed her.

* * *

"Teyla?" John asked, walking up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged his hand off and stiffled a sob. Wiping her tears away, she turned and looked at him without saying a word. John decided it would be up to him to talk first. "What's wrong?"

"My father is gone."

"I'm sorry. I know it hurts."

"How could you know?" She said, sobs racking her body as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"My mommy is gone. Daddy hurt her." He tried not to cry. He wanted to be strong for Teyla. No one was strong for him when his mommy died. He had to be the strong one, and it hurt him. He and Teyla were silent for a while, neither one knowing what to say. John sat beside her on the large stump she was sitting on. It was surrounded with trees and vines with flowers on them. You could see the ocean if you looked far enough.

"Did you love your daddy?" John finally said. "I loved my mommy."

"Yes. I loved my daddy a lot." Teyla hopped off of the stump, falling on her knees from the two foot fall. John followed. They started walking around the woods, Teyla eventually stopping and stuck her bottom lip out.

"What's wrong?" John asked.

"The fort isn't here." She had bulit one with her friends when she was a child, and didn't remember that they were now on the mainland. They continued walking, soon finding a small fort of sorts. Jinto and his friends had probably built it, as it said 'Jinto' on a piece of wood hanging over the door. Teyla grinned. She had found _something_ at least.

"Wow," John said as Teyla took his hand and led him inside.

Holes in the roof showed its age, the sticks now rotten and liable to fall. Teyla smiled. It was a lot different than the one she had built, but it was OK. She didn't know why Jinto used rotten sticks, though. Inside it was empty, only a small round of rocks where there had once been a campfire. It was small, but cozy. The two sat down and talked for a while, mostly about their families, John avoiding the subject of his father. He mostly talked about his mother and brother.

When they had been taken away from their daddy, they had been separated and he had never seen his little brother again. His brother's name had been Shawn. Finally, as it started getting dark, they decided to head back. Once they entered the tent, they saw Ronon and Jinto playing stick fight. Oddly enough, Ronon was holding up pretty well, and he was much smaller than Jinto. Halling saw the two little kids enter the tent and ran over.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes," Teyla said, wiping a few more tears away. She walked over to the coloring book, finding a page that was empty and picking up a crayon, beginning to color the turtle pink. John sat down beside her, grabbing the green crayon and coloring the bird. Halling smiled at them. They got along as well as they had when they were older. They also acted much older than four. He sighed. They were being forced to grow up to quickly. Kids their age weren't supposed to feel that much pain. They were supposed to be living freely, and happily.

* * *

Rodney paced around the room as he watched Elizabeth talk with Cadwell. Finally, she sighed and walked over to Rodney.

"He said no," she reported.

"Well, why the hell not?" Rodney growled, clenching his fists. "And who said he is in charge?"

"He said he won't risk any more people getting reduced to toddlers. He spoke with the 'Powers that be' on earth, and they agree with him. It is far to dangerous." She sighed, ready to drop the worst news on him. "You are being reassigned to a new team and PR6-541 is being removed from our system. No research unless it is on Atlantis."

* * *

Halling watched as John twisted and turned in his bed, sweat dripping down his face. He was apparently having a nightmare.

_John was four. He was sitting at the table with his brother, mother and father. Shawn was playing with his food, not really eating anything. John was finished eating, waiting for his father to excuse him, which he knew he wouldn't for a while. Sometimes, he had to stay there all night, because if he got up, his daddy would hurt him. _

"Daddy? Can I go to my room?" John asked, not meeting his eyes.

"No. You are going to sit right there."

Finally, his mom excused him and he ran up to his room, closing the door and sitting on his bed, crying. Soon, he could hear the screams of Shawn and grabbed his pillow, placing it over his ears. Shawn was only three. His mother was also yelling, yelling at his father to stop, to stop hitting Shawn. But his father continued hitting the little boy.

Soon, the house went silent and he could hear Shawn run upstairs, into his room. The door slammed. His father didn't like slammed doors. The loud footsteps of Jack Sheppard were heard soon, heading up the stairs. John jumped off his bed, running into his closet and hiding. He knew his dad _wasn't after him, but he was scared for Shawn. He wanted to help his little brother, but there was nothing he could do. _

Soon, the shouts were heard again. His dad was hitting Shawn because he had slammed a door. He had slammed a freaking door, and he was being beaten within an inch of his life. When his dad was done, John  
ran into Shawn's room to see the tiny child curled up into a ball on the floor. His eye was black and his arms were starting to form bruises. He was bloody, but John couldn't tell where it was coming from. Running over, he grabbed Shawn and held him until he stopped crying. Leading him into the bathroom that connected their two rooms, he sat Shawn on the toilet seat and started cleaning him up. Then Shawn asked the question that hurt John so much.

"Why didn't you hwelp me?" Tears slipped from the tiny blue eyes that John loved so much. He would do anything for Shawn, anything he could. Protecting him was not one of the things he could do.

"Because I can't."

Later that night, as John tucked Shawn into bed, he walked back into his room to find his dad there, holding the belt. John wanted to scream, but every time his mother got involved, she got hurt, too. He had to suck it up and take it. His father had never done anything too bad to him, just to his mother and Shawn. John didn't try to run, or he knew it would be worse. That night was one John would never forget. His back was  
raw and bloody, and his arms had bruises forming where his dad held him in place as he was beaten. The question that Shawn asked him every time it happened still haunted him.

"Why didn't you help me?"

Halling ran over and woke John up. Bolting upright in the bed, John started crying. Halling had never seen John Sheppard so weak. He held the little boy until he had calmed down a little. Teyla was awake as well, but was just laying quietly in her corner. Halling pulled back and wiped some of the tears from John's eyes. He sniffled and wiped his nose on his shirt.

"What's wrong, John?" Halling asked gently.

"My daddy hurt me and Shawn," he said, his eyes red and puffy. Halling hugged the little boy again, gently laying him back in the bed.

"It's all right now, your father isn't here," Halling said, standing to leave. John grabbed onto his shirt.

"Could you stay with me until I fall asleep?" Halling nodded and smiled. It was the least he could do for the little boy. Sitting beside his bed, he watched as John's little eyes slipped closed again. He was shaking with fear.

_...Why didn't you help me?...  
_

* * *

(Yawn) Well, that took forever to write. 4000 words!

_**Please Review!**_


	3. Breathe

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/1/07**, this has been edited. Thanks to **Alaena Night** for beta'ing!

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — III**

Little John sat on a large rock, picking at the sand as he watched Ronon swim. The other boy was swimming further out into the sea than he should have, and was using the waves to push him back in when he went out too far. Teyla met John's gaze and smiled, waving from where she was burrying herself in the sand. Her purple swimsuit was poking out, as only her chest and head were visible.

John jumped off of the rock, falling into the soft sand. Walking over to Teyla, he sat down.

"Wanna build a sand castle?" he asked, grabbing the little toy bucket that was laying beside Teyla. She looked up at him, moving her legs back and forth to knock the sand from them

"What's 'Sand Castle'?" Teyla asked, confused.

"I'll show you!" He filled the bucket with sand, packed it in, then turned it upside down. The sand fell out into the perfect shape of a tower. Teyla smiled.

"We could make Atlantis!" she suggested happily, taking the bucket from his hands.

And so they set to making the city. Two hours later, when Halling came to check on them, they were still building. Jinto had been sent to watch everyone, but he was swimming with Ronon. They were the only two children that knew how.

Halling smiled upon seeing Teyla and John hard at work. He walked over and knelt down beside them. John grinned.

"What are you building?" Halling asked, poking the structure. Teyla laughed and swatted his hand away.

"Atlantis!"

John packed sand into the bucket again and dumped it out. As soon as it fall to the ground, he put it in place and stated hitting it away so it would look a lot more like one of the Atlantis towers. Getting down on his hands and knees, he placed his head on the ground, looking at the bottom, his ear getting filled with sand. Happy, he pulled away and stood up, knocking sand off of his body. His green swimming shorts were still dripping sand as he ran out to the beach and stuck his foot in the water, testing the temperature. Teyla also ran over, Halling close behind.

Jumping up and down in the water, John motioned for Teyla to come in. Ronan, who saw them coming, swam closer to shore.

"Come on out to the deep part!" he said, motioning towards him and Jinto.

"No! We can't swim!" John called back, sitting down in the water so it was up to his waist; the lack of a shirt was making it so his back was becoming slightly sunburnt around the large scars on his back.

Ronon sighed and went back to swimming. Soon, Halling, satisfied that they were all safe, went and sat on the rock that John had occupied a few hours before. He was watching them from a distance, but he could see everyone. Slowly dozing off, he smiled at the playful screams of the children.

Frowning, Ronon swam over to Teyla and John, who were busy puzzling over how to make a sand castle stand up in the water.

"Come in just a little further, I'll watch you," he said. John thought this over for a moment and stood up, water dripping from his swimming shorts. He walked forward until the water was up to his neck.

"I scared," he said, starting to turn back. Ronon laughed and set a hand on John's head, pushing down. John didn't even have time to scream before he was totally covered by the water. Ronon wasn't being mean, just playing like most little boys did. However, he had never dunked a kid who couldn't swim before.

"Meanie! Let him back up!" Teyla yelled from her spot where the water was only to her ankles. Ronan shrugged and removed his hand. John didn't come up. Screaming, Teyla ran toward Halling and shook him until he was awake.

"Hallie!"

Sitting up, now alert, he looked around. His eyes landed on Teyla, who's small eyes were filled with fear as she yelled, "John isn't coming up!"

His own eyes going wide, Halling ran over to the water.

"Where did John go?" he asked Ronon and Jinto worriedly.

Ronon shrugged, saying simply, "I dunked him, and he didn't come back up."

Halling immedately jumped under the water, swimming around in search of the little boy. Soon, he saw him. Holding him around his waist, he hauled John above the water. Teyla was waiting desperately on the sand, while Ronon was looking very guilty. Jinto ran forward and helped move John out and away from the water. Halling turned to Jinto.

"Go, find help."

Jinto nodded and ran off.

"John? Can you hear me?" Halling asked, placing his face in front of John's. He felt nothing; the child wasn't breathing. Not more than a minute later, Jinto came back with a doctor. Carson had trained a few people on the mainland things like CPR and mouth-to-mouth. The doctor was a young man, not more than twenty-five. He knelt down beside John and checked his pulse. He couldn't find it.

"Jinto! Call Atlantis!" he yelled, trying to help John the best he could. Teyla was standing five feet away, crying. The doctor quickly began CPR and mouth-to-mouth. A few minutes later, John began coughing water up. He was still unconcious, but he was alive.

"He_ is_ alive, but he needs to be taken to Atlantis. Halling, would you carry him back to the village?" The doctor asked. Halling nodded, picking up John under his knees and arms. Teyla clutched onto Halling's shirt, walking beside him. Ronon followed without saying a word.

* * *

An hour later John was resting peacefully. He looked tiny in the huge bed. Teyla was sitting with him as the adults talked.

"How did it happen?" Elizabeth asked Halling, who still looked a little shaken.

"I don't know. Teyla came to me and told me that they could not find John," Halling said slowly. "I do not know what happened before."

"And Teyla isn't talking. Ronon, do you know what happened?" Elizabeth turned to the still dripping boy. He was sitting on a chair, his hands in his lap and looking down at the floor.

"I did it," he said simply.

Elizabeth walked over, kneeling down beside him. "What did you do?" she asked softly, trying not to scare him as he shrank further back into his chair.

"I was just playing! I didn't mean to hurt him, honest!" Ronon pleaded, tears in his eyes.

"We know, Ronon. But we need to know exactly what happened, John almost died."

"Him and Teyla were playing in the sand, and when they came in, I wanted 'em to come further. When John did, I dunked him and he didn't come up." Ronan was crying now, the first time anyone had seen him do so.

Elizabeth nodded, rubbing the little boy's back. Soon, he was done crying and she walked over to John's bed where Halling was. Teyla had fallen asleep beside John and the two were snoring soundly.

"They get along good, don't they?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, they do. You should have seen that they were building out of sand," Halling said, remembering that the beautiful tower that had gotten knocked down in all the excitment.

Elizabeth smiled. "What was it?"

"Atlantis."

Chuckling, Elizabeth realized it was just ike John to build the biggest, hardest thing he could.

"Yeah, just like them."

* * *

Later that day, John was woken up by loud voices. He tried to sit up, only to realize that Teyla was sleeping by his side. Smiling, he just laid back. What had happened? And why did it feel like an elephant had jumped on his stomach? Carson chose the moment to walk in, and smiled when he saw John awake.

"Why, hello. How 'ya doing, lad?" He walked over to John and felt his forehead for signs of fever.

"I fine. What happened?" the little boy asked. He looked around the room to see Halling sleeping in the bed next to him.

"You almost died," Carson said.

"Really?" John looked surprised. "How?"

"Ronon dunked you, and appearently, you don't know to close your mouth when you go underwater," Carson joked, laughing as he checked John's IV to make sure it was working right. "You're fine. Now, get some more sleep."

John laid down, but really coudn't sleep. When he finally did, he was met with unpleasant dreams.

_John had been four at the time. He was swimming in their pool, having to wear a shirt to hide the horrible welts on his back from the last beating. Shawn was at a friend's, so John was enjoying his day, not having to be scared for Shawn. His mom was at a teacher's meeting at the school where she worked, and his father was the only one home, so John was staying outside. Smiling, he continued to walk around in the water, not really knowing how to swim. Suddenly, the back door slammed and Jack Sheppard came out, a broken glass in his hand._

_"You broke this, you little rat!" He held it up, showing it to John, who was trying to back away as far as he could. It had actually been Shawn who had broken it, but he wasn't going to get his little brother in more touble than he would be in when he came home. John just looked at the ground._

_"Come over here!" Jack was drunk, and John knew it. He could get away from him this time, but when his dad was sober, he would come after him again, and it would hurt a lot more. John slowly moved forward. As soon as he was within range, Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. John winced, closing his eyes with pain. His dad held up the glass, placing it on John's arm. John knew what he was going to do, and braced himself for the pain. He was the man of the house, and he had to take this like a the man he was. _

_His dad cut him across his forearm, the glass slicing through his skin, blood dripping into the pool. John couldn't help but let a few tears escape as the pain sliced through him like a knife._

_"Daddy...please, stop," John begged. His dad smirked, and without saying a word, he pushed John deeper into the pool. He gasped, bringing in a mouthful of water. His dad brought him up by his hair, yanking hard. John coughed and sputtered, spitting up water. _

_"Why did you break it?" _

_Jack didn't give John time to answer before shoving him under the water again. The next time John came up, he shouted,_

_"It was an accident! I'm sorry!" _

_Under the water again, John tried to keep his mouth shut as his tears and blood mixed with the water. His dad dunked him several more times before stomping back in the house. John dragged himself from the pool, climbing a tree to his bedroom window. He had learned to do that, for it was his only way in the house when his dad locked him out at night. Once inside, John closed his door softly and ran into his bathroom._

_After that, he told everyone his cut was from falling out of a tree. They believed him. Sometimes, he wished they didn't._

John woke to Teyla shaking him. Bolting up in bed, he looked around. His dad wasn't there. Sighing, he fell back onto the bed. Teyla touched his arm, looking at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked innocently, her eyes curious.

"Nothing. I just had a bad dweam." John wiped sweat off his forehead and took a deep breath. He turned onto his side and Teyla shrugged, bored again. There was nowhere else for her to sleep, so she just curled up at John's feet again. John stayed awake for some time, thinking, and when he finally did fall to sleep again, he was plagued with bad dreams.

The next morning arrived much too quickly for John. He wanted about ... ten hours more sleep. Yawning, he looked around. Carson saw him and walked over, smiling as he approached the little boy and sleeping girl. Teyla was still curled up, snoring.

"Good morning, lad," Carson said quietly so not to wake Teyla. John looked up.

"Can I get outta here? I don't wike this place."

Carson laughed. "You never liked it, did you?"

John looked at him oddly, cocking his head to the side.

"Never mind. And you can go, but I want you back here tonight."

John started to jump up, but was stopped by Carson, who said, "Eat somethin' first."

John pouted and sat back down, taking the tray Carson handed him. Teyla stirred, lifting her head up and looking around. Halling was gone, so he must have awoken a while ago. She eyed the jello on John's plate with interest.

"What is that?" she asked. John, not even realizing she was awake, almost choked on his cereal in surprise. He looked down at the jello, wrinkling his nose.

"Jello. Want it? I only like blue."

Teyla nodded and John handed her the bright red jello. She poked it to see if it would move, and when it didn't jump off the plate, she began eating it, giggling.

"It's funny."

The two of them laughed over the food for a while before Elizabeth walked in. Upon seeing them giggling and pointing at their plates, she smiled, walking forward.

"Hello, you two."

John looked up surprise, a chicken strip hanging out of his mouth. Teyla was fighting the jello with a fork, trying to catch it.

"Hi, Dr. Weir!" John said, grinning as he stuffed the chicken back in his mouth. He bounced up and down in the bed, making the jello that Teyla had just caught fall off her fork. Frowning, she started at it again. Elizabeth laughed as she gently took the fork from Teyla and handed her a spoon. Teyla smiled, and taking the spoon, grabbed the jello and stuffed it in her mouth. Carson walked over.

"Why, hello, Dr. Weir," he said, touching John's shoulder. "John, I am going to take the IV out now. This will hurt a little."

John nodded, wincing as the needle was taken from his skin. Carson stuck a piece of cotten over it and held it there for a minute. "You can go now."

John was about to run out of the room only wearing his hospital gown, but Elizabeth stopped him, holding out a pair of jean overalls and an orange T-shirt. He took them from her and started changing then and there. Carson hauled the little boy back behind a curtain, and soon he was dressed, wearing no shoes or socks.

"Can I go now?" he whined. Teyla had also changed, and was now wearing Khaki shorts and a pink T-shirt. Her hair had been pulled back into pig-tails by Elizabeth, and she was grinning, bouncing around in circles. Elizabeth took their hands and they started running forward, trying to pull Elizabeth with them. She grinned, ignoring them, and let them pull.

"Come on, slowpoke!" John whined. He turned around, pulling her as he walked backwards. Suddenly, his foot caught on a wet patch and he fell back right on his butt. Elizabeth bent down beside him and Teyla giggled, covering her mouth.

"Are you OK?" Elizabeth asked the crying John. He just nodded and allowed her to pick him up. She carried him the rest of the way to Rodney's lab, which neither child knew they were going to. John smiled brightly when they arrived, wiping the tears from his eyes. Elizabeth let him down and he and Teyla ran forward into Rodney's lab. He looked up, testing glasses still on.

"You look like a bug!" Teyla observed as she grabbed one of the small devices he was working on. John took another and started running around with it, using it as an airplane as he made whirring noises. Rodney glared at Elizabeth.

"Your turn for baby-sitting duty."

She grinned and left the room, leaving Rodney to deal with John and Teyla.

* * *

"I don't _wanna_ sit in the corner!" John whined, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his tongue out at Rodney. The older man sighed.

"Look, _you're_ a pain in the butt, and _I_ need to work. You sit there, and do not speak," Rodney said, causing John to start crying again. Teyla scooched closer to him, wanting to get away from Rodney.

"Let's run away," she suggested, making John smile. He nodded and the two stood and quietly walked from the room. As soon as they were out of the lab, they started laughing and running down the hall. Once they were sure that they were far enough from Rodney, they slowed their pace and walked instead of running.

"That was fun!" John said, smiling. He looked around, spotting the transporter only ten feet away. He grabbed Teyla's hand and pulled her toward it.

"What is this?" Teyla asked.

"It's an evalator," John said, struggling with the pronunciation. Teyla laughed as they walked inside. John looked around for the floor buttons, and when he didn't find any, he touched the panel on the far side of the wall. The doors closed, and a second later, they reopened. John and Teyla had traveled half the way across Atlantis.

* * *

"Ma'am! Transporter five was just activated and traveled to section nine of the unexplored part of Atlantis."

Elizabeth gasped. She tapped her radio, opening a line to Rodney.

"Rodney!"

"What?" he asked, totally unaware that the two children had left his lab.

"Where are Teyla and John?"

There was a loud gasp from the other line of the radio as Rodney turned around.

"Not here!"

"Well, transporter five was just used to travel to section nine of the unexplored part of Atlantis. I think it was them," Elizabeth said, clearly upset. Ronon was safe, because he was helping move boxes out of an old room that some of the new recruits were going to use. He had volunteered, and Elizabeth took it as a chance to get him busy so he couldn't kill himself, or get in trouble as Teyla and John had done.

"Rodney, go and get them."

"Right." Rodney shut off his radio and ran out of his lab and down the hall to the nearest transporter. Running inside, he hit the button that would take him to John and Teyla. Nothing. Hitting it again, he sighed as it continued to do nothing. Turning his radio back on again, he spoke.

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"The transporter isn't wo-"

His words were cut off as the transporter closed him in. Pounding on it, he tried his radio again. Nothing. Sighing, he started on a way to get out. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was trying to keep people out of panic as the city went into an automatid lockdown again. There was a virus in Altantis, and chances are, it had come from where John and Teyla were.

* * *

"I scared, John," Teyla said, feeling her way around in the dark for him as she spoke. She wiped tears away as she looked around. It was dark, cold, and she was feeling sick. Coughing, she fell to the floor and placed a hand over her mouth. Just then, she felt someone sit down beside her. It was John. Shivering, she laid her head on his shoulder, coughing again. "It cold," she said.

"I know. It's dark, too. I wanna get out of here. Lets go look around." He stood up, helping Teyla up also. He took her hand, not wanting either of them to get lost again. They began walking, looking for a way out. Teyla suddenly fell to the floor, a coughing fit taking over. John knelt beside her.

"You all right?"

She shook her head. John stood up, quickly walking toward the door and finding the light switch. He turned it on and blinked several times as the room was bathed in light. When that was done, he walked around the room, looking for someting to help them. A radio! Running to it, John picked it up and fiddled with it until he got it to turn on.

"Dr. Weir!" he yelled.

"John?" He could hear her questioning voice as she spoke.

"Yeah. We can't get out of here and Teyla sick!" he said, running back over to her and sitting down beside her.

"I am going to let you talk to Carson, and I want you to tell him exactly what is wrong, all right?"

Elizabeth's worry was clear in her voice as she handed the radio to Carson. The questions began and John began to answer them to the best of his knowledge.

"Does she have a fever?"

John put his hand on her forehead. She was sweaty, and her head was really hot.

"Uh, huh."

"Cough? Sneezing? Runny nose? Shivers, chest pains?" Carson asked. John asked Teyla each one, and she said yes to the cough, shivers and chest pains. John told Carson and he sighed. "It sounds like a cold, but the system wouldn't have gone into a lockdown if it were just that. Does she have any other symptoms?"

"Teyla, is anything else wrong?"

"My stomach and throat hurts," she said, coughing.

"She said her tummy and mouth hurts."

Carson would have smiled at the childish words if were not for the situation.

"Doctor, she is vwery hot now," John said as he felt her forehead again. It was twice as hot as before. Carson geared up in haz-mat and began to trek through the halls until he found Teyla and John.

Since he couldn't bring her back until she was in isolation, Carson had his men bring haz-mat suits for both of the children. The smallest they had were still too large. Placing Teyla on a stretcher, they walked out, closing the door behind them. The lockdown ended twenty minues later when the city kicked in and closed all of the doors leading to the lab and kept them locked. When they got back to the infirmary, Carson put Teyla in an isolated section and began giving her medicine to slow her fever and to help fight the virus. Nothing was working. Her fever had gone up.

"It's bloody 108.7!" yelled Carson. "Your internal cooling system kicks in when a fever goes above 106 point anything!" He was frustrated, not knowing what was going on, or how to stop it. "It is holding, but I am afraid that unless we cool her down, her body won't be able to take much more."

John was also in isolated quarters, only feet from Teyla. All of a sudden, he yelled.

"Something's wrong!"

Teyla had gone into convulsions. Carson ran forward, frantically adding medicine to her IV that would help calm the convulsions. It was all he could do for her. He held her small form to the bed to keep her from hurting herself as he waited for the assult on her tiny body to stop.

"She will die," Carson said when Elizabeth asked what would happen if the convulsions started again. "I don't know what is going on, I only know that John avoided it. Either the ancient gene is protecting him, or it only attacks females."

* * *

Two hours later nothing had changed. John wasn't allowed to go yet, so he was sitting by Teyla's bedside, holding her hand and fighting sleep.

"He thinks it is his fault," Carson told Elizabeth, Rodney and Ronon, who were all waiting for news on Teyla.

"How so?" Elizabeth asked, stifling a yawn as she tried to stay awake.

"He said that he was the one that activated the transporter," Carson said slowly, looking back to John. "I just hope she is going to be all right.

John was trying not to fall asleep, a battle he was losing. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake any longer. Sighing, he fell into a deep sleep.

_John was sitting with Shawn by his mother's bedside. She was dying, and the doctors said she had only a little more time until she would be gone. John was fighting tears as Shawn cried deeply. John held his little brother as he greived for the mother that they were losing, hoping he could offer a little comfort. Jack Sheppard hadn't come to see his wife once. He'd been the one who had done this to her._

_**One Hour Ago**_

_John watched fearfully as his dad hit his mom around. He was drunk again, and wasn't very happy when his wife had told him she was pregnant again. John didn't know what that meant at the time, but he knew it must be bad, because his dad was being meaner than he had ever been before._

_"Please..." his mom begged. He didn't listen. Instead, he continued to kick her in the stomach. "You'll kill the baby..."_

_"Shut-up! How do I even know it's mine!" Jack yelled, kicking her more. _

_She was crying, not for herself, but for her baby. There was no way it had lived through all of the abuse Jack was giving it. John heard Shawn come out of his room, and quickly ran from the stairs, stopping him before he could get to close. If Jack knew they were both out of bed, they would be in deep trouble. Taking Shawn back to his room, they both crawled into the closet and John held Shawn close. With each scream from his mother, a tear fell from his eye. Soon, there were no more tears to shed. Suddenly, the house went quiet. Leaving Shawn crying, John quietly went downstairs, grabbing the phone and calling 911. He gave the address and the reason he was calling, and then ran back up to his room before his dad found out what he was doing. He had told the woman to bring the police, too._

_They arrived and arrested Jack, bringing John's mother, Kelly, to the hospital. And that's where he was now. Sitting beside his brother, mourning the death of both his mom and his unborn sibling. The doctor had told him what pregnant was. _

_It wasn't fair._

_His sibling got to escape this life. _

_To escape pain and suffering, the suffering that John and Shawn had gone through so many times, and the last time his mom would go through it ever again._

John awoke on his own this time. He didn't realize what had awoken until he looked up and saw Teyla holding his hand. She was awake, if just barely. John called Carson in. He was still wearing his haz-mat gear, and smiled upon seeing Teyla awake. He quicky took her tempature, and realized it was holding at 108.7. He checked a few more things, and by the time he was done with the tests, Teyla was sleeping again.

"She is fine for now, but if we don't find out what is wrong, she'll die." Carson reported to the adults once he was out of hearing rage of John. At least he thought. John knew he wasn't supposed to hear it, but he did. Placing his face on Teyla's bed, he cried tears he didn't know he still had.

* * *

Too ... long ...

Well, what do you think? I am going to show what happened between John and Shawn after their mom's death through more flashbacks in the next few chapters, but not now. I decided to end it on a good note ... Not!

_**Please Review!**_


	4. Freedom

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited. Thanks to **Alaena Night** for beta'ing!

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — IV**

Elizabeth sat at the briefing table, Carson on her right and Rodney on her left. John was playing with his coloring book on the floor.

"So, what is it?" Elizabeth asked, directing her question to Carson. He shook his head.

"I really haven't an idea. All I know is that it is acting like a parasite. It's invading Teyla's body, but it isn't attacking anyone else," he said, looking through his notes as he spoke. Elizabeth sighed. Even at four, John and Teyla still got themselves into situations that they couldn't get themselves out of.

"Rodney, what do you have?" Elizabeth asked wearily.

"Well, I am going through some notes in the Ancient database, and it appears that the room the John and Teyla entered was also anAncient viral lab, like the one we discovered a few months ago." He paused, then continued speaking. "I would normally go inside the room with a haz-mat suit, but the database locked all the doors leading to it, and we can't get through, even protected."

"How did the virus get out?"

"It must have been in a container to safe guard it, but it was broken, just like before. Again, I can't check it out," Rodney grumbled, sighing and tapping his fingers on the table. Elizabeth turned to John.

"John, was anything broken inside the room?" she asked gently, so as not to upset him.

He simply shook his head without turning around and continued to color his picture.

"Well, scratch that idea. What else?"

"It could have been loose in the room and when John and Teyla arrived, and it found a place to take harbor," Rodney suggested half-heartedly. "And I was reading in the notes about the virus. There was an experimental cure they were working on. The notes were stopped before it was finished, so I am thinking that if we can find it, we, and _we_ meaning _I,_ will have to finish it _myself_.

"Great. Get to work on getting in that room. Oh, and are we going to go with the assumption that it is a virus that acts like a parasite, taking only one person?" Dr. Weir asked, turning back to Rodney. He nodded, as did Carson. Sighing, she stood up. "Let's all get back to work."

Rodney jumped from his seat and ran out of the room, all too happy to get back to work. Carson also left, taking John with him back to the infirmary.

* * *

"I've got it!" Rodney ran past Elizabeth's office, sticking his head into the small room and running out again. Elizabeth put down the reports she was looking through and started running after Rodney, who was headed for the infirmary. He quickly grabbed Carson and John and ran back to the lab he was working in.

"I got it!" Rodney said again, grinning from ear to ear.

"Got what?" Elizabeth was a little antsy now, wanting to know what was going on.

"A way to get into the lab!" Rodney said, still smiling.

"How?" Carson asked. "And are you sure it's a good idea?"

"_Yes_, yes it is," Rodney said, as if completely surprised that anyone would doubt him.

"Great. How?" Elizabeth asked.

Rodney smirked and pointed to the ceiling above him. There was a small vent above, closed with wires and screws. It was only big enough for a young child to get through. All eyes fell on John as he continued to look at the vent. He noticed everyone was looking at him and smiled.

"I do it!" he said happily. He always wanted to get inside one of those vents, and it would help Teyla, so he was all for it.

* * *

John climbed through the vent slowly. He kept slipping and had to re-climb several times. He was wearing a haz-mat suit, and on the slick metal floors, he was having a hard time. He reached another opening and looked down. No ... that was the women's showering room. Quickly bypassing it, he continued on. Finally, he reached the right vent.

"I'm got it!" he said, looking down into the room. There was a clear door blocking the exit from the vent; another measure to keep viruses out of Atlantis. John frowned, removing the metal vent and kicking at the clear door. He reached behind him and pulled the other door closed. It locked into place the second he had. There had been several doors on the way in, all of which Rodney had to tap into to get John through. He had closed and locked each one as he went through, not wanting to infect the rest of Atlantis with unknown viruses.

"Good. Now, there should be another small door. I am going to hack through it and you will have ten seconds. This one will close on its own."

John waited for it to open. Once it had, he positioned himself to jump. It was quite far down. "Five, four ... " Rodney counted, waiting for John to say he was in the room. Bracing himself, John jumped forward, dropping on the hard floor. He landed wrong and his ankle twisted to the side. Wincing in pain and trying to hold back tears, he started looking around.

"John, do you see anything?" Elizabeth asked. Rodney had gotten a rough sketch of the container that the cure was being held in, and had given it to John. He looked around the room, going through drawers, buckets, cupboards, everything. Finally finding the little case, he spoke into his radio.

"I think I gots it. What color?" he asked, holding the bright pink vial in his hand.

"Pinkish-purple," Rodney said, taking the headset from Elizabeth.

"Right. Um ... how do I get back?" John asked, putting the vial inside his haz-mat suit and looking around the room.

"The same way you came in," Elizabeth told him, smiling. John stacked a light few boxes up to reach the vent and climbed inside, waiting for Rodney to hack into the system and re-open the door. He climbed through it and started his journey back, closing each door behind him. As soon as he arrived back into the lab, he landed down into the isolated corner of the room Carson had set up.

He was removed from the haz-mat siut and both child and siut were cleaned from head to toe in special chemicals designed to kill any virus on skin and only skin. Once that was done, John dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a red T-shirt. Brushing his now wet hair from his face, he handed Rodney the vial. Running off, Rodney began testing it and working on it.

John smiled, limping over to everyone. He was still wet, and cold. Elizabeth handed him a pair of socks and some velcro sneakers.

"Thanks." He sat down on the floor, trying to put the socks on over his swollen ankle. Frowning, he tugged and tugged at the sock. Finally giving up, he turned to Elizabeth. "Hwelp?" She nodded and put the socks and shoes on. She then lead him into the infirmary where Carson put an ACE bandage over his ankle, saying it was just sprained and would get better in a few days. John limped over to the outside of Teyla's isolated room, sitting down and waiting.

* * *

Rodney worked on the drug, without sleep, for several days. John continued to sit outside Teyla's room, coloring in his book. Teyla's fever went down a little, and was now holding at 106.7, but Carson knew it was only the drugs he had her on. They were strong, and he couldn't keep her on them for much longer, so Rodney had to hurry. Finally, three days later, only a few hours after Teyla's fever sky-rocketed to 109.3, Rodney said the drug was complete.

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked, hoping that in trying to save her, they wouldn't kill Teyla.

"Yes, I am sure. I took blood samples from Teyla and tested the drug in them. It attacks the virus, and within hours, all the signs of an infection are gone."

Elizabeth took a deep breath, looking from face to face in the briefing room. John was sitting at the table beside Ronon and Carson, who was a little more worried about Teyla dying from the virus than the drug,

"Elizabeth, love, if we don't try somethin', Teyla will die for sure. Her fever is just gettin' worse, and I am afraid she will die within the day if we don't give her the drug. All of her major organs are shuttin' down."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Fine, you have a go."

Rodney and Carson bolted from the room and headed to the infurmary. Elizabeth took John's hand and Ronon followed behind. He still didn't like holding anyone's hand. Once they arived in the infirmary, they waited as Rodney and Carson suited up to go into the isolated room. John pulled at Elizabeth's shirt. She looked down into pleading eyes.

"I go to?" he asked. She nodded and started helping him into the little haz-mat suit that the Daedulas had brought. Once everyone was suited up, they walked in. Teyla was sweating, hooked up to many differen't machines to monitor her failing body. IV's hooked into her arm and a feeding tube also hooked up to different machines. Carson took the drug from Rodney, gathering it into a syrange and administering it through the IV. He turned to the rest of them, who were waiting outside the plastic.

"Now, we wait."

And so they did. John stayed with Teyla the whole time. Everyone else visited, Carson coming in almost every ten minutes to check on her. Even Ronon visited once or twice. Several hours later, Carson had news to report.

"Her fever is going down. It is 107.8 and dropping about a degree an hour. I am only worried about the damage the virus has already done. Her kidneys have already started shutting down, and if she lives, she will need a transplant within the next month." He paused, letting the information sink in. "The fever is low enough now that damage will stop, but what has been done is done. We will need to test all the willing children on the mainland and see if we can get a match for Teyla."

Elizabeth nodded grimly, speaking. "I will send some people to the mainland to take blood samples. When they get back, get on it. For now, I think John needs to be woken up and stuck in a bed." Elizabeth smiled at the little boy. She walked over to him, picking him up and carrying him to the free bed by the door of the infirmary. He didn't wake up, but instead just moaned something under his breath and turned around.

The next day the test results came back. Carson began explaining why none of the children matched Teyla's blood type.

"Type O children have neither IA nor IB on their red blood cells, so if they are exposed to IA or IB, their immune system recognizes it as foreign, and mounts an attack. Therefore, type O children can receive blood only from type O individuals." Most of what Carson had just said went over everyone's heads. The only part they understood was the part where O could only recieve from O. "Teyla has an O blood type. I just tested it myself. We might be able to find a small adult with that blood type, but it is unlikely. I think our best chance is to send her back to earth."

"But you said Teyla only has a week or two. It will take the Daedalus a month to get back!" Elizabeth said, putting her head in her hands.

"I know. But I have tested every child that was willing. There isn't another way," Carson said, making John turn around.

"What 'bout me?" Elizabeth turned around. Carson hadn't tested John yet.

Twenty minutes later, John was sitting on the infirmary bed, holding a piece of cotton to the puncture wound while Carson rushed his blood off to test it. John had been brave about the whole thing, holding his arm out for Carson to stick with the needle. However, the tube filling with blood, his blood, had kinda freaked him out. Looking up and Elizabeth and Rodney, he smiled a little.

"You did good, little guy."

Elizabeth ruffled John's hair and he smiled more. This was the first time anyone had praised him for anything. When he had blood tests done in the past, all his dad did was frown.

"Thanks."

The three wasted away a few hours while Carson ran the blood test. When he came back, he was smiling.

"It's O."

John didn't know what it meant, but everyone was smiling, so he smiled, too. Carson turned to John. They still didn't know if he wanted to do it or not.

"John, you are the only one who can save Teyla. She needs a transplant, a kidney." Carson showed John where his kidney would be, trying to make this a little less scary for the kid. "You have two, everyone does, but you only need _one_ to live. Would you like to give one to Teyla?"

John seemed to think this over for a minute, then nodded.

"Yup!"

Carson detailed it a lot more for him, to make sure he understood everything right. He did. He was going to give up one of his kidneys to save his best friend.

They were able to get Teyla into surgery right away, because she had been on dialysis for the past five days while waiting for a kidney.

Two hours later, both Teyla and John were getting ready for the surgery. Teyla still had yet to wake up, and John was a lot more scared than he was an hour ago. He was now faced with the challenge of surgery, which he had never had before. Laying on the large white bed, he looked so small. Elizabeth walked over, taking John's hand. Carson had given him the drug that would knock him out already, and he was getting a little tired.

"Do you have anything you want to say?" Elizabeth asked. John shook his head. She smiled and backed up a little. John closed his eyes and folded his hands together, whispering something softly. It took Elizabeth a minute to realize what it was.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pway the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pway the Lord my soul to take." He whispered the child's prayer that Elizabeth had known for so long. She smiled, realizing that, as a kid, John was faced with the possibilty of dying before he woke a lot more than other kids. Blinking back tears, she watched as John and Teyla were taken into surgery.

Her and Rodney waited for hours while the two children were in surgery. Teyla's fever had gone down hours ago, so if she could survive this, she would be out of the woods.

..._Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take..._

These words kept running through Elizabeth's head as she thought. Would John be all right, too? Since Teyla was Athosian, would the change effect her? Carson had said she was completely human, but ... what if?

Elizabeth's thoughts were interrupted as Carson walked out of the make-shift Operating Room. He had cleaned himself up, and was wearing new scrubs. He was smiling. Rodney and Elizabeth jumped up and ran over, Ronon close on their heels.

"So?" Rodney asked, almost to the point of bouncing up and down.

"It went fine. Teyla is showing no signs of rejecting the kidney, and John is doing great."

Elizabeth relaxed, falling into a nearby chair.

"That's great. When can we see them?" she asked.

"Soon. I want to keep an eye on both of them, John to make sure he is doing all right after the surgery, and Teyla to make sure she is not rejecting the kidney. I am giving her Anti-Rejectant drugs, just in case."

Everyone was visibly more calm and happy after that. Halling was by the next day, and was surprised to hear that Teyla had gotten a kidney. The last he had heard was that there was nothing for her.

"Who matched?" he asked, wanting to see Teyla as soon as possible. Carson had also told him about the matching process.

"John. We didn't think to test him because it never occured to us. But he matched perfectly." Carson led Halling into the infirmary where John and Teyla were at. Teyla was awake, but John was still sleeping. He had woken up in the middle of the night, but fell back to sleep quickly. When Teyla saw Halling she smiled.

"Hallie!"

He walked over, hugging her the best he could around all of the IV's and cords monitoring her.

"Hello, Teyla. How are you doing?"

"I good," she said. Her fever was now 99.8, not bad, but still a low-grade fever. Halling looked over at John, who was laying flat on his back, an IV in his arm and a bandage over the cut from surgery. He suddenly started moving around, finally opening his eyes and looking around. For a minute, he didn't realize where he was, but finally looked over, and seeing Teyla awake, smiled.

"Hi!" he said, wincing as he tried to turn over. Carson chose that moment to walk by, and seeing John in pain, walked up to him.

"Hey, Lad. Want somethin' for the pain?"

John shrugged and Carson gave it to him anyway.

"Hello, John. I want to thank you," Halling said, walking over to the little boy.

"Fer what?" he asked innocently, his blue eyes blinking.

"For saving Teyla. Dr. Beckett said that you were the only one that could have helped." Halling ruffled John's hair.

"Welcome. I want'd do it." He turned on his side, looking over at Teyla, who was sitting up now, propped on pillows. He grinned.

* * *

"How are you guys doing?" Elizabeth walked into the infirmary two weeks later, and smiled upon seeing John and Teyla coloring in the same coloring book again. Carson walked up.

"Bloody annoying, that's how," he grumbled. "They want out. I finally gave in to letting them out of bed, but I want to watch them for a while." He muttered some more under his beath and walked off. John and Teyla looked up.

"Hi, Dr. Weir!" John said, smiling brightly. "Wanna see something?" He jumped off the bed and ran over, lifting his light blue hospital shirt, exposing a large, healing cut where they had done the surgery. John had many scars, but this one was special. It was because he helped save someone's life, not because his father had gotten mad.

"Wow." Elizabeth picked John up, sitting the squirming child back down on the bed beside Teyla.

Teyla lifted her shirt also, showing an identical scar.

"We match now!" John said, still grinning from ear to ear. Carson walked in with two food trays. Each held a tuna sandwich, a cup of milk and jello. John had blue.

"Eat it all," he said. The children never ate all their food, and it was needed for a meaningful recovery. Carson then turned to Elizabeth as John and Teyla set to attacking their jello.

"I take it they are recovering well?" Elizabeth asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched the two finally give up on the fork and shove the jello in their mouths using their hands.

"They are doing great. John is recovering well, and though Teyla is showing early signs of havin' to be on Anti-Rejection drugs for a while, she is fine for now," Carson explained.

"Great."

Two days later, Carson was going out of his mind and finally let John and Teyla out of the infirmary.

As of now, they were playing in the gym, Teyla trying to do cartwheels and failing, and John using the sticks they used to fight with as swords and playing a game in his mind. Ronon was sitting in the corner, laughing each time Teyla fell. John grinned as he stabbed an imaginary man and did a little victory dance. Just then Halling entered the room, making John hit right into him. Halling laughed and picked the bumbling boy off the ground, placing him on his shoulders. John started using Halling's head as a drum. The drumsticks being his "swords".

"Hello, children. It is good to see you out of the infirmary."

John bounced up and down on Halling's shoulders until he was put on the ground.

"Wanna see somthin'?" Without waiting for a reply, John lifted his shirt just enough to show off his scar. Teyla ran up beside John, showing hers off as well. Right now, they were more like healing cuts, but soon enough they would become lifelong scars. Halling laughed, looking into the shining eyes of the children.

"That is neat. Now come on, let's go have lunch. Dr. Weir said that none of you have eaten today."

Teyla, John and Ronon all followed Halling, single file, out of the gym. Once they arrived in the mess hall, Halling made sure that all of them got something healthy to eat before leading them all to the balcony where they sat down. Teyla started eating her food right away, as did Ronon, but John, being a little boy, chose to ignore the food and played airplanes with his hands instead.

"John, eat," Halling said firmly.

"Not hwungry," John replied simply. Halling sighed and moved John over to his side of the table so he could better watch him. Soon, John was eating, as much as he didn't want to. After lunch, John and Teyla ran, screaming, from the room. Ronon just looked up at Halling, smiling. Suddenly, there was a loud wail from across the room. Halling stood up, running over to where John was sitting ont he ground, blood coming from his mouth. He clutched something in his fist, smiling proudly. He had ran into the wall.

"John, are you OK?" Halling asked, leaning down beside the bloody boy.

"Yep!" He opened his hand to reveal a small, but bloody, tooth. He smiled to show off the gap right in front where his tooth had been. Halling smiled. John then jumped up, trying to run around in circles. Halling stopped him by grabbing the bright blue shirt he was wearing. He led John into the bathroom and cleaned the blood off of his chin and hands, cleaning the tooth also. Once that was done, he handed John a piece of paper towel to hold against the bloody space where the tooth had come from.

"I wost a woof!" John said through the mouth of paper towels. Running out of the bathroom, he and the other two kids began running up the stairs and through the halls. Halling followed them, trying desperately to keep up. He never remembered Teyla being this energetic when she was a child before. Soon, he saw them in Dr. Weir's office and ran inside, huffing and puffing.

"I wost a woof!" John told Elizabeth, still speaking through a full mouth. He showed her the tooth and she smiled.

"Better put it under your pillow, or the tooth fairy won't come."

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, including John. "The tooth fairy is like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny." More weird looks from everyone _but_ John this time. Elizabeth sighed. "You don't know about the tooth fairy?"

"Wope!" John said, pressing the paper towel back in place as it started falling out.

"Well..." All the kids took a seat around her as she sat on the ground. "The tooth fairy is someone who gives toys or other neat things when she finds a tooth under a child's pillow." Ronon started pulling on his teeth, and then frowned, realizing none were loose.

"I get a present?" John asked excitedly, pulling the paper towel from his mouth and throwing it away. "I never got a present before." Elizabeth smiled. She would have to visit John's quarters tonight.

* * *

That night, before all the kids went to bed, Elizabeth tucked them in and said their prayers. They were all sharing quarters, as it would be silly to split three children into three seperate rooms. Halling was staying with them, Jinto, too. Right now, Elizabeth was helping John put his tooth under his pillow. She had almost laughed every time he smiled, showing the small gap in his teeth. She had seen John Sheppard in a lot of situations, but never with a lost tooth.

John laid down under his covers, snuggling deep into the green blanket. He closed his eyes and clapsed his small hands together.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."

Once he was done, he quickly kissed Elizabeth on the cheek and burrowed down under the covers all the way. She smiled and stood up, walking out of the room, turning out the light on her way out.

_**Two months before John's mother's death**_

_John ran into the house. He was late, and his dad was going to be very mad. He'd gone across the street to his friend's house earlier that day, and he had fallen asleep. His friend, Daniel, had also fallen asleep. Daniel's mom felt no reason to wake him at five, when he was supposed to go home. She would just write John a note to send with him. When he had woken, he had bolted from the house. Running into his own, he stopped at the sight of his dad, waiting at the door._

_"You're late." _

_He was drunk again. John braced himself for what he knew was coming. His dad slapped him across the face, throwing John backward into the couch. Just then, Kelly walked into the room._

_"For God's sake, Jack, stop!" she yelled. "He's just a little boy!" He didn't say a word as Kelly broke into tears. Jack continued to hit John._

_He wasn't going to cry, he wasn't going to let his dad have the satisfaction of seeing that. John held back his tears as his dad hit him over and over again. He could feel bruises form as his dad continued. No matter how many times he had gone through it, John could never keep from crying. He finally let his tears fall, trying to break from his dad's grip. That just made him hit harder. _

_"Jack, stop!" Kelly yelled, picking Shawn up as he ran to try to help his brother. "Please ..."_

_"Shut-up!" Jack slurred, continuing to hit John. He finally broke from his dad's grip, running up the stairs and into his room. Jack was following him. Searching for somewhere to hide, John's eyes fell upon a small chest. No, it was filled with toys. Running to his window, he climbed out, grabbing the vines that hung from the huge oak and moved onto the roof. He tried to slow his breathing as he heard his dad in his room, stomping around and throwing things apart, trying to find John. Finally giving up, John heard his footsteps going away._

_Sighing in relief, John climbed into the crevice between the two bedroom roofs. It was two feet lower where the bathroom was, and he wouldn't fall off. He winced as he curled into a ball, trying to find a position that didn't hurt so badly. Crying himself to sleep, he muttered the little prayer he had learned from Daniel._

_"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take..."_

* * *

_(Yawn)_ Hope you like. Took me all day to write. Sissy, beta away! Anyway, Teyla is fine, John is fine, and they are going to be very energetic throughout the next few chapters.

_**Please Review!**_


	5. Together

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the Characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — V**

The next morning John awoke to Teyla jumping up and down on his bed. He looked around blearily, sitting up and holding himself up with his hands. Teyla was grinning, her blue eyes shining.

"Tooth fairy!" she yelled to remind him. He grinned, turning around and throwing his pillow to the back of his bed. His eyes went wide when he saw what was under it. It was an old, ragged football.

Elizabeth had snuck into the room around midnight and given John his old football. It had taken her hours to find, because all of his stuff had been packed up when he was shrunk.

"Football!" John jumped up from the bed and yelled, "Go long!" He began to throw it, but stopped when he saw the confused look on Teyla's face. "That means I am going to throw it all across the room. Run and catch it!"

She did. Running, and trying not to topple over all of the toys and such on the floor, she caught it her hands.

"Throw it back," John said, motioning for her to throw it to him.

"How?"

"Like this." John walked over, showing her how to hold the ball and throw it forward. She did a test run with John holding her arm so she would throw it right.

"Good. Now, throw it to me," John said, running to the other side of the room and catching it in the crook of his arm. He smiled and threw it back. Unfortunately, it fell upon the other bed in the room. Right on Halling's head. Both John and Teyla ran, hiding behind his bed, which was farthest from Halling's.

"Oops," John whispered, holding a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Halling sat up, holding the football in his hands, smiling. He knew only one person who would be playing with a football at six AM in the morning.

"John, Teyla?"

They both stood up slowly, their heads the only thing showing from behind the large bed. John looked down at the floor, folding his hands behind his back.

"I sorry, Mwister."

"It is fine, John. But how about you take this game out to the hall?" Halling suggested, motioning to the still sleeping Jinto and Ronon.

"Thanks!" John grabbed the ball from Halling and both he and Teyla ran from the room. Halling shook his head and went back to sleep.

"Go long!"

Teyla ran backwards as John threw the ball as far as he could. She grabbed it, falling on her bottom as she did. Giggling, she stood up and threw it back. John was about to catch it when he bumped into someone behind. Looking up, the first thing he noticed was that the giant was holding_ his_ football. It was Elizabeth.

"Gimme!" John jumped up and down, trying to reach the ball. Teyla joined him, but neither could reach it. Elizabeth snickered.

"Want it back?"

John nodded, both feet firmly placed on the ground now. "Pwease?"

"Sure, but..." Elizabeth got a wicked look on her face. "Go long!"

John and Teyla screamed, running backwards at the same time, bumping into each other and falling to the ground, the ball resting at the feet of the very awake Halling. Teyla and John untangled themselves and dove for the ball, John grabbing it first.

"I win!"

He finally handed it to Teyla as she pouted. Elizabeth smiled. It was easier to have Teyla understand 'Earth things' when she was a kid. She was acting a lot more like she was from Earth, too. Spending two and a half weeks with John in the infirmary did no good for her, either. They ran off, giggling and still in their pajamas. Halling looked up at Elizabeth, who was smiling.

"Where did he get that toy?" Halling asked.

"Tooth fairy," Elizabeth said simply, walking off, still grinning.

* * *

"Do I _gotta_?" John wined.

"Yes," Elizabeth answered. "School is where you need to be right now."

Teyla jumped up and down beside him, hugging his football to her chest. She was wearing a pink spaghetti strap tank top and khaki flare pants. Ronan was wearing a brown shirt and jeans, simple. John, who wanted to be different, was wearing a shirt that said 'Put on your seat belt ... I wanna try something' and cargo pants. His hair was a mess, and he wore sandals on his feet.

Soon, they were all herded into a small room that had been cleared for learning. Elizabeth had given the kids all school books that had been brought from Earth, realizing they would need them if the kids were going to learn anything, and when other children were born on Atlantis, they would need a proper education, also.

John sat down on the floor, picking up the reading book and helping Teyla and Ronon pick out the sounds. Their teacher was late. Soon, they set to memorizing the letters of the Alphabet. When they were only a few letters into it, their teacher arrived with the rest of the children.

Elizabeth had told everyone on the mainland about school, and said that if they wanted to inroll their children in it, they were more than welcome to. Now, Atlantis had set up a learning system. Kids 4-8 were in one room, kids 9-12 were in another, and kids 13-17 were in the last. Now that things were getting more routine on Atlantis, they all decided it would be good to give all the children on the mainland a good education.

"Children, open your handbooks to page one. Today, we are going to memorize the letters of the alphabet." The circular desks in the room fit four kids per desk, so all in all, there were sixteen kids in the room. All of them learning the basics. Finally, after about ten minutes of silence, Cadem knew it couldn't last.

"Teacher, I gotta pee!" John said, waving his hands in the air. Cadmen sighed. Why did she get roped into this job again? Sighing, she pointed to the small bathroom in the corner. Elizabeth had been kind enough to make the little kid's room with a bathroom.

Finally, _finally_, school was over. As the kids crowded out of the room and ran to the Jumper bay, Cadmen fell back onto her seat, exhausted. The Jumpers each held twenty kids, and since there were only thirty in the school, it was easy to pick them up and drop them off, seeing as the ride was only thirty minutes.

"Well, the first day of our new school wasn't too bad," Elizabeth observed, watching the kids run down the halls. Rodney, who was beside her, snorted.

"Says _she_ who didn't get the job of filling in for the teacher who was supposed to be on the Daedalus! I got roped into teaching a bunch of 9-12-year-olds."

The Daedalus had brought a few teachers who had volunteered to teach alien kids. But two of them had been left behind and only the 13-17-year-olds had a proper teacher. The other two were coming on the next trip. Until then, Rodney and Cadmen were stuck.

"Well, look on the bright side. No Wraith have bothered us for months," Elizabeth said, smiling at Rodney.

"Oh, yea? Well, I would rather face a Wraith armada any day than teach a bunch of kids."

Elizabeth laughed.

"Don't worry, you only have to teach tomorrow because a substitute teacher will fill in for you until the real teacher comes from Earth."

"Are you suggesting that I am not a real teacher?" Rodney asked, not mad, but a little agitated.

"I would never dream of it." Elizabeth was about to walk off when she was met by two overactive kids.

"Auntie Lizzie!" John yelled, grabbing her leg. She looked down to see John and Teyla grinning happily.

"Did you like you first day of school?" Elizabeth asked, bending down by the two children. Teyla cut into whatever John was going to say.

"Yea! We memrized ... Um ... ABC!" She yelled, trying to remember the word 'Alphabet'. "And then we had snacks, and we played puzzles!" She was jumping in circles now, her pigtails bouncing up and down as she did. Finally coming to a halt, she looked up at Rodney. "Hi!"

"What did you have for snacks?" Rodney asked, amazed that _any_ kid could be as hyper as Teyla was.

"We had juice, and we had cookies, and these little things that looked like worms! They tasted weird!"

Rodney sighed. Sugar, sugar, and more sugar. He was going to have to speak with Cadmen. Sighing again, he went on his way, groaning as he heard Johna and Teyla give a minute by minute account of their day. Poor Elizabeth.

Poor Elizabeth indeed. She was taking it kindly, but it was getting frustrating. She knew that John and Teyla weren't normally like that, that it had to be the sugar, but she was just about ready to scream. Sighing happily as the two kids ran off to bother someone else about their day, she walked the rest of the way into her office, dropping into her chair and grabbing the calender. Today was Monday. By Friday, she would be ready to kill both John and Teyla if they were this hyper. She was going to have to speak with Cadmen about that.

* * *

Three weeks later, exactly two months since the main team had been turned into kids, it was John's birthday. Everyone had gotten together, wanting to make this the biggest birthday ever. He had never had a proper birthday before, so it wouldn't be hard to top any of them. Right now, Elizabeth was using school to keep John busy so he didn't prance in as they were setting things up. They were decorating the mess hall with balloons and a big banner hanging in the middle of the room. Rodney was grumbling.

"How come I didn't get a big party on my birthday?" he said, trying to pound the banner into the ceiling with a tack, but instead pounding his thumb.

Elizabeth smiled as she passed him, throwing a handful of streamers on his head. "Because you're not a kid, and you didn't have a crappy childhood."

Rodney grumbled again, hitting at a stubborn piece of streamer until it flew off his face. Getting back to work, he looked down from hanging the banner five minutes later as Elizabeth walked by again.

"Um, Rod? You have a streamer in your hair." She laughed as she walked by. She loved tormenting Rodney. He used both hands to swat at it this time, but lost his balance on the ladder he was standing on and fell unto Elizabeth.

"Thanks for breaking my fall."

A trip to the infirmary and a lot of aspirin later, Elizabeth was taking caution not to walk under any ladders or any people. At all. Finally, the mess hall was decorated and all they had to do was wait. The new teacher, Jenni Dalton, was going to tell John to go to the mess hall after school, so there would not be a problem getting him there. Halling walked in, a little late, and went to his hiding place after placing his present on the table with the rest of them. Finally, ten minutes later, John and Teyla walked in, hand in hand. Lately, the two had become inseparable.

"Surprise!" everyone yelled.

John squeaked, jumping up and hiding behind Teyla. She smiled, having known what was going to happen. Finally, after figuring the coast was clear, John came out, looking around the room, his eyes falling on the 'Happy 5th Birthday, John!' banner in the middle of the room.

"Whoa ... " he said slowly, his eyes landing on the table of gifts. Elizabeth walked over, taking his hand and leading him over to the table with a large cake in the shape of a football. It was sitting on a field, the grass being frosting. His eyes glowed as he looked at it. He had never gotten a cake before. Smiling as Elizabeth lit up the five candles, he motioned for Teyla to come over. Ronon was close behind. Everyone started singing 'Happy Birthday' and John was nearly jumping up and down, his face glowing in the candlelight. Finally, he was able to blow out the candles.

"Make a wish!" Elizabeth added as he was about to blow them out. Pausing, he seemed deep in thought. Finally making his wish, he blew out the candles. All five flickered for a moment before the small flames died. Then, the party started. Rodney cut the cake while Elizabeth handed out cups of punch. John was running circles around the present table, wanting to open them _now_.

"Wait a minute, little guy," Elizabeth said, walking up behind him.

"I don't wanna!" John sat down on the floor, smiling. It was November 12th, the day John had always hated before.

_**A year ago — John's forth birthday**_

_John walked into his house, smiling upon opening the door. His little brother was always waiting for him when he got home from pre-school. Shawn jumped up and down in front of him, smiling and handing him a crudely wrapped package. Jack came up behind him, taking the package from Shawn and looking at it. _

_"What's this?" Shawn looked scared. His dad didn't believe in celebrating birthdays._

_"A pwesent for Johnny," he said, wincing as Jack tore the paper off of it. He looked at the toy. It was a small train that Shawn had bought with his saved allowance. It was small, only big enough to fit in the palm of your hand. John kept quiet, not wanting to get him or Shawn in trouble._

_"I told you, we do not celebrate birthdays!" he yelled, grabbing Shawn's arm and twisting it, making him start crying. "The only thing you should celebrate is that you were actually born!" He slapped Shawn across the face, crushing the toy train in his big hand. Shawn continued to cry loudly. John decided to step in._

_"Daddy! Stop!" He didn't like seeing his baby brother get hurt for doing something nice. Jack let Shawn go, causing him to fall hard on the floor. He crawled off, hiding behind the couch as Jack approached John. John was backing up in fear. Hitting the door, he realized he couldn't go further as he heard the 'click' of the lock. He started crying, knowing what was coming._

_"You wanna cry? I'll give you something to cry about!"Jack took his belt off, pressing it in two and testing it on his hand. It left a large red mark. He grabbed John's arm, ripped his shirt up and began hitting John. Loud, painful crys could be heard from far away, and realizing this, Jack stuffed a cloth into John's mouth before continuing to hit the little boy. Almost ten minutes later, he dropped John onto the floor and stomped off. Shawn came out of his hiding place, kneeling down beside John and touching his blistered and bloody back. John screamed, ripping the cloth out of his mouth and crying loudly, gasping for breath as each painful sob escaped him._

_Shawn held the pieces of the broken train in his hand. It symbolized something. His broken heart._

John's green long-sleeved shirt was used to wipe his tears away as he remembered his last birthday. The bright yellow stripes going down the arms of the shirt took on darker orange color as they were covered in the salty tears. Teyla bent down beside him, smiling softly as she did. He looked up.

"I got you somethin'. You can open it now if you would like to."

John nodded and took the tiny package from Teyla. It was small, but it meant the world to him. Opening it with shaking hands, expecting someone to rip it away from him at any second, he smiled as the wrapper fell away. It was a necklace, made of a part of a sea-shell. It had a hole in the top, where Teyla had put a thin leather rope through and tied together. The shell was broken in half, sanded to where there were no sharp ends. Teyla produced a necklace from under her shirt and showed it to him. It fit perfectly into the other half, and when you put the two together, you could read the following inscription.

_"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself"_

John smiled, looking up at Teyla with tears in his eyes. He was never going to take off his necklace.

"Thank you." He hugged her and she smiled.

"I had hwelp. Liz had to help me with the thing it says."

John couldn't read the inscription, so he walked up to Elizabeth, still holding Teyla's hand. They put their two necklaces together and John looked up.

"What does it say?"

"It says; A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself." Elizabeth smiled as John's grin grew. The two walked off, the necklaces still hanging around their necks. Soon, it was time to open all the presents. John sat down, opening the presents one by one. From Elizabeth, he got a bat and ball; from Rodney, a small tub of candy; from Carson, a toy first aid kit; from Cadmen, a stuffed frog; from Ronon, a _real _frog, and various other things, including a few other stuffed animals and toys. Most of the presents that John had received had been bought from earth weeks before just for this day, while others were just hanging around for no reason. But now what the Daedalus was working, and had a ZPM to charge the hyper drive, trips were very easy.

As John opened his presents, Ronon and Teyla were looking left out, so he grabbed a few of his presents and waked up to Ronon first. He handed him a toy airplane.

"Huh? For me?" When John nodded, he smiled. A real, genuine smile, one of the first anyone ever saw. "Thanks!" And he ran off, flying the plane through the air and making whirring noises.

John walked up to Teyla next, holding out a large, stuffed purple butterfly. It had come from someone who didn't realize John was a boy when her friend had called him 'cute little Jonny'. The woman had never met John, so she just bought what she thought would work. Teyla accepted the gift with shining eyes.

"I have something else for you," John said, pulling out the small, ragged football that had come to mean so much to Teyla as they played with it for hours on end each day.

"Really? But the tooth fairy gave it to you."

Elizabeth smiled as she heard the conversation. She was officially the 'Tooth Fairy' to the kids. She would have to get Rodney to be Santa Clause, though. Giggling at herself, she walked over to Rodney. The birthday party was coming to an end, and she needed someone else to help clean up. Suddenly, music started playing. Carson smiled from up at the makeshift stage that Elizabeth didn't even realize was being stuck together.

"Come on, everyone, let's dance!" Cadmen yelled, stealing the mike from Carson. He swatted her hand away playfully and took the mike back.

"As the lovely lady has said, I have decided to out together a dance. I know John probably won't like it, but it is a little somthin' for the people who put this little gig together."

Elizabeth smiled as Carson played the music he had paused just minutes before. Rodney cleared his throat and turned to Elizabeth.

"Um, since, you know...um, everyone is...uh..." Rodney stuttered.

"Yes, Rodney, I would like to dance."

He visibly relaxed, taking her hand and leading her over to the make-shift dance floor that couples were dancing on. John turned to Teyla.

"Let's play matchmaker!"

"What's that?" Teyla asked, confused. John rolled his eyes.

"Nothing. Come on, I have an idea."

He grabbed Teyla's hand and pulled her from the mess hall, grinning widely.

* * *

Well, I am not sure, but I think I will lean to a few more pairings while John and Teyla are to young. So, what did you think? Who likes the pairing McKay/Elizabeth? I HATED it when I first started watching the show, but, against my better judgement, I have been leaning toward it. In Fan fiction only, though. It will take a lot to make me like it in the show. **So I have a question. McWeir (Elizabeth/McKay) or not?  
****  
_Please Review!_**


	6. Changes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — VI**

John grinned as he hid behind the wall, holding the card in his hand. Since he couldn't write, he had to get Carson's help on it. In his other hand, he held a bouquet of roses. He had picked them from the mainland earlier that day. His birthday had been two days ago, and him and Teyla had been planning since then. If this didn't work, he was going to scream. He shifted to the side as Elizabeth walked by the door, trying not to be seen. Soon, she had left to go take care of the disaster that John had caused.

Teyla was a mile away, sitting outside of Rodney's lab, holding only a note. Carson had also helped with this one. Sighing, she realized that Rodney showed no signs of leaving anytime soon, though. Grabbing the small radio she had with her, she pressed the button and spoke softly into it.

"John, we have a pwoblem."

"What?" he hissed, trying not to be heard. Elizabeth had only just left, and he didn't want this ruined.

"Rodney isn't movin'."

John sighed through the radio, running into Elizabeth's office and dropping the roses and letter on the desk, arranging them and then running out.

"Be there in a second."

John jogged through the halls, finally coming to a halt outside of Rodney's office. Teyla stood up and walked over to him

"He's just staying there," she said, waving the letter in the air. "We can't let Liz find her note if Rodney doesn't."

John plopped down on the ground, letting his chin rest in his hands, sighing. Teyla dropped next to him as she kept a close eye on Rodney, to make sure he didn't see them. Suddenly, John jumped up, startling Teyla.

"I got it!" he said just a little too loud. Rodney turned in his seat, looking out the door. Teyla grabbed John's arm and pulled him further away as Rodney came out to inspect it. Shrugging his shoulders, he started to walk back in when his radio crackled.

"What is it?" he said, sighing as he walked the rest of the way back into his lab.

"Well, that's a kind way to greet me, Rodney," came the other voice. It seemed amused.

"Sorry, Elizabeth. I'm just tired."

"I understand. I need you to come help me with something, then I am ordering you to get some sleep."

Teyla's eyes went wide as she realized this was the perfect time to deliver the note. Keeping her hand over John's mouth, she peeked inside the lab where Rodney was sitting down. He said something into the mike and stood, walking out and down the hall, not even noticing John and Teyla ten feet away. Sighing in relief, Teyla let go of John's mouth and they both ran inside, dropping the note onto the desk and running out, giggling. They ran into something, or rather, someone, about fifty feet from Rodney's lab. Looking up, they saw Halling.

"What are you two doing?" Halling asked, observing the two glowing faces.

"Nothing," John said, grabbing Teyla's hand and running off. "C'ya later!" he yelled back, wanting to get as far away from the lab as possible before Rodney found the note.

* * *

Rodney walked into Elizabeth's lab, nearly bumping into her as she walked out.

"Hold on, can I talk to you for a minute?" he said, stopping her in her tracks. She stopped and nodded, hiding what she was holding behind her back. Rodney smirked and pulled the note from behind his back. Elizabeth looked through it. The words were most defiantly not in her handwriting.

_Rodney, _

_That night ... at the dance, it made me think about some things. My feelings for you have changed since we got to Atlantis; when we got here, I wanted to kill you most of the time. You were just an arrogant scientist, like all the others. But you are different. If you feel the same way, please meet me at the balcony. You know which one._

_Sincerely,  
Elizabeth_

"Uh, Rod? I didn't write this," she said, handing it back. It was a nice note, and she did want to kill Rodney most of the time, but she would never admit that her feelings had changed. Especially not in a note. "And I am supposing you didn't write this?" She handed him the letter she was hiding behind her back. Rodney opened it, scanning it.

_Elizabeth, _

That night when I didn't have the nerve to ask you to dance, it made me think about some things. Even more so that it was actually kinda ... well, you that asked me to dance. I know that I can be rude sometimes, but I am hoping you can see past that to what I am really like. If not, then I wish you well. If you can, please meet me at the balcony ... You know which one.

Sincerely,  
Rodney McKay

"Nope. I would never admit that I am rude..." He stopped, realizing what he just said. Sighing, he handed back the note. "I just admitted that I was rude, didn't I?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Yes, you did. But I can see past that," she said, smiling slightly.

John and Teyla giggled from their spot behind the control panel. It looked like their plan was working. Suddenly, they were grabbed by the back of their shirts and forced to stand up. They looked at each other.

"Busted," John whined, looking up into the face of Halling. Strangely enough, he wasn't frowning. Unfortunately, he wasn't smiling either. He led them away from Elizabeth's office, making them miss what was said next. John, sticking his bottom lip out, followed Halling. Finally, they stopped outside their quarters. Halling turned to the two children, who were now looking guilty.

"What have you done?"

John squirmed. He had been asked that question many times in his life.

_"What have you done?" The woman asked, coming up to John and his brother. The two were in temoray foster care while they tried to find a home for the two boys. Shawn had been hurt really bad in his last beating; he was paralyzed from the waist down. It was hard to find a family that would take two little boys, one paralyzed for the rest of his life. _

_"I didn't do nothing," John said, pointing to one of the other kids in the foster home. "He did it." The boy was probably seven, and had broken the vase, not John. The woman glanced briefly over at him, then turned back to John. Who had told the truth?_

_"Steven, is that true?" she asked the other boy. He shook his head, smirking at John where the woman wouldn't see._

_"No, Mrs. Watson, John did it. He's just lying." _

_Suddenly, Shawn spoke up._

_"Steven-" He was cut off when Steven kicked Shawn's wheelchair, making it fall over. Mrs. Watson didn't see him do it._

_"John, go sit in the corner for fifteen minutes while I clean this up." _

_John sniffled and wiped at his tears. Steven was always getting John in trouble, and Mrs. Watson thought John was the liar, not Steven. Walking over to the corner, John sat down, leaning his head against the wall and crying. Just then the phone rang. Mrs Watson sighed, standing up and walking over to the phone, picking it up._

_"Hello?" The person on the other end spoke for several minutes. "All right, I will tell them and see what they think." She then hung up and took John out of the corner and sat him down with Shawn._

_"What's wrong?" John asked, folding his hands into his lap._

_"That was the adoption agency. They have found a willing family for Shawn."_

_"Just Shawn?" John asked, looking at his little brother. He was sucking on his fingers, leaning against the couch._

_"Sorry, John. You can turn it down if you like, they are giving you a say in it because I know you don't want to be separated from you brother. But almost no families are willing to take a disabled child, this could be a one time thing. If Shawn doesn't go, he might never get a home." _

_John looked at his little brother again. He was dozing now. If he let Shawn go, he would probably never see him again. If he didn't, Shawn might never get a home. He couldn't do that to his brother, he deserved a chance at a nice family. Even if it meant it was away from him._

_"OK, he can go._"

John was torn from his thoughts as Halling spoke again.

"You did what?"

Apparently, Teyla had told him what they had done.

"We sorry," John said, looking down at the floor. He looked on the verge of tears. Seeing that, Halling touched his shoulder.

"What is wrong, John?"

The little boy looked up, crying now. From what her remembered, he and Shawn had only been apart for a year now.

"I wanna see Shawn," he said, tears leaking from his eyes and falling down his face. Halling, not being sure what to do, just hugged the little boy.

"Who is Shawn?" he asked gently. Teyla just stood behind John, being silent.

"My bwother."

* * *

"I got it!" Two weeks later, Rodney ran through the halls of Atlantis, nearly hitting into each and every person walking the halls. He ran straight into Elizabeth's office, stopping to rest right outside of it before barging in. Elizabeth looked up at the flustered scientist. His face was red, and though he was in a lot better shape then when he came to Atlantis, he was still huffing and puffing from the mile run.

"I got it!" he yelled again.

"Got what?" Elizabeth asked, sitting up straight and putting down the portable computer she was working on.

"A way to change them back!" Rodney said, smiling.

"What? But Caldwell said..."

"But I _know_ how to do it. I am a hundred percent sure. I can do it on Atlantis!" He paused again to catch his breath, then continued. "The Ancients were the ones that gave that planet the device. They have a second on here on Atlantis, and I can get it to work!"

Two hours later, everyone was searching the lab that was said to have the second device in it. Finally, little Ronon found it. Rodney came running over and smiled.

"We can change them back."

A few accidents, many mad scientists, and an even madder Rodney later, all three children were waiting to be changed back. The device glowed, illuminating their faces bright red. The device flashed, making the room fill with the red glow. As soon as it was gone, Rodney ran in, tuning the device off and looking at everyone. They were adults. Breathing a sigh of relief, he called Carson over the radio.

Ronon was still standing, but John and Teyla were on the ground, unconscious. Carson ran in, kneeling down beside them and checking their pulse.

"They're weak, bring them to the infirmary."

Carson loaded Teyla and John onto stretchers and they were wheeled off into the infirmary, where Carson began his tests and put them on breathing masks. Ronon was fine, standing up, holding his head.

"What happened?" he asked, looking down at the clothes he was wearing. "And more importantly, can I change?"

* * *

Carson sighed, coming out of the infirmary, holding a clipboard. He looked at each member of the team; all of them were worried.

"I am afraid they're dyin'. The sudden change from child to adult must have effected them."

"But Ronon was fine," Elizabeth cut in, pointing to the all-to-happy-not-to-be-four Ronon.

"No, you don't understand. Their kidney's are failing, their hearts are failing and their lungs aren't working properly. The sudden change from child to adult so soon after a transplant is causing them to die."

"What about their hearts and lungs? What is wrong with them?" Rodney asked, folding his arms across his chest and looking at the floor.

"I am guessin' that the reason their lungs aren't workin' is because they were on ventilators for so long after the transplant that the change was just to much for them. As for their hearts, I really have no idea. All I do know is that they have only weeks to live."

* * *

Cliffie, cliffie, cliffie! Ye-ha! Well, I know this one is short, but I wanted to give you a chapter before tonight, seeing as how I am slacking on writing.

_**Please Review!**_


	7. Crash

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — VII**

The next few days were spent trying to find a way to save John and Teyla. Carson and his team worked non-stop, trying to keep them healthy. Both were put on life support and machines that limited the work that their failing hearts had to do.

Rodney studied the device and worked on why it would cause Teyla and John's hearts to fail, for there was no reason they should have. Finally, three days later, everyone met up in the briefing room to discuss their options.

"We can't do a transplant like before, because this time it not only their kidneys. Their hearts and lungs are goin', too," Carson said. "There is really nothing we can do for them except to keep them comfortable."

"Rodney, options." Elizabeth sighed, folding her hands in her lap and looking around the table.

"I think the only thing to do now is to try changing them back to kids," Rodney suggested. "I have been running some research, and I think I can set the device to only change them back to about eight or ten."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, looking up to meet Rodney's eyes. He nodded, shifting through his notes. They were scribbled on pieces of paper. Finding the one that he needed, he handed it to Elizabeth. She looked it over, dropping it to the table and looking up, raising her eyes at Rodney.

"Um, Rodney, I can't read that."

"Sorry. Basically, I have learned how to set the age. The Ancients made the device so it could be set to different ages for the needs of the planet. Kids, teens, adults, whatever. This one was set to change to children the first hit, and the second changed to the previous age that the person was. I am going to set it to...ten, I think. I am not sure, but I think the small change of only five years instead of twenty will not effect the changes that their bodies have undergone when they were five." Rodney stopped to take a deep breath. "So, shall we try it?"

"I don't see how we have another choice," Elizabeth said. "Carson gave Teyla and John only a week to live." She sighed, stood up and looked at Carson and Rodney. "Get to work."

Rodney nodded, jumped up and ran out of the room, only to come running back in to grab his notes twenty seconds later. Smiling, Elizabeth walked into her office.

Rodney, in his lab, soon began digging through the device after killing the power source. Sticking his head inside, he took three of the crystals and got out, placing them on the table he was working on and began messing with them. The small touch pad was too little for Rodney to use his hands, so he grabbed a pen and used it to program the crystal. It was slow going, but after an hour, he was pretty sure he was able to program the first crystal. It was the one that would change appearances. The next one would change the mind and the third ... the most important, the vital organs. He had to program each one right, or they would have twenty-year-old minds in the body of a ten-year-old.

Elizabeth and Carson both came in to bother him several times. He gently, or not so much so, told them to please leave him ... now. An hour later, he was getting nowhere so he stood up, stretching. Hearing his stomach growl, he walked out to go to the mess hall. He met up with Zelenka there.

"Rodney!" Zelenka called, running up and sitting beside him. Rodney looked up, annoyed.

"What do you want?" He growled.

"I have a theory. I think that ... " Rodney cut him off.

"Yea, yea, yea. Leave me alone." He stood up and walked off. Zelenka shrugged, reaching over to grab Rodney's turkey sandwich. Smiling, he ate it.

* * *

Carson paced around the infirmary. John had just gone into cardiac arrest and had to brought back. He was not doing so good. Teyla was a little more healthy, because she was seven years younger than John, and therefore the change was a little different. Pausing at John's side to check his vitals, Carson breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that he was doing all right. For now. Just then, Elizabeth walked in.

"How are they?" She asked, walking around and looking at the pale faces of John and Teyla.

"Not so good. John crashed on us a few minutes ago, and we had to put him on extra life support, but Teyla is doing as good as can be expected," Carson reported, sighing and handing Elizabeth the charts on Teyla and John.

"Rodney is going as fast as he can, but he doesn't think he will be done until tomorrow. Will they make it?"

Carson sighed again, something he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. "I don't know. Teyla will, if she doesn't take a turn for the worse. But John ... I really can't say."

"Fine. Keep me apprised." Elizabeth began to leave, pausing at the door and looking back at Teyla and John. They both looked so weak, so helpless. Walking out, she headed to Rodney's lab. As she walked the halls, she took the time to look at what she never had. The city was so interesting, but all she ever did was sit in her office and try to help people. Now, she felt utterly helpless. Entering Rodney's lab, she walked over and placed her hands on his shoulders. He gasped, jumping a little. Elizabeth smiled.

"Hello, Rod."

"God, don't _ever_ do that to me again." He put a hand to his chest, clearly surprised.

"Sorry. What do you have?" Leaning over him, she stared at the crystals. Rodney was working on the last one.

"Um, I have set the crystals that change outward appearance and the one that will change the vital organs, but this one is driving me nuts." He sighed, leaning back and pointing to the third crystal. It was a light greenish, possible even a little yellow.

"What does it do?" Elizabeth asked, reaching out to touch it. Rodney winced as her hand made contact, but he made no move to whack her hand away. She knew what it did, but she didn't know how she knew. As her hand slid over the cold crystal, she took a deep breath in. It felt ... alive. Quickly pulling her hand away, she held it in her other and looked at it. Clenching her fingers into a fist, she let them relax again and looked up at Rodney.

"What?" he asked, touching the crystal himself. Nothing.

"I-I don't know. It felt ... alive, or something."

"What? Really?" Rodney then began poking at the device, trying to feel what Elizabeth had. Still nothing. "I got nothing."

He yawned, leaning back in his chair again. Elizabeth nodded, reaching out to touch the crystal again. It was cold this time, freezing even. Taking a deep breath, she began trying to communicate with the crystal. She went over twenty seconds without feeling anything. She was about to stop, telling herself it was a stupid idea, when the crystal connected with her. Throwing her head back, it was like she was taken into another world. Looking around, everything was a light blue. She was floating inside something, but she didn't know what. The beautiful blue strands floating down around her instantly captured her. They were _amazing_. She looked around, closing her eyes as the device began speaking.

Well, not speaking, in a sense, but it was communicating with her. Telling her something. She didn't quite understand. She tried to shout, but realizing she couldn't speak, she began trying to disconnect with the device. It didn't work.

Rodney watched as Elizabeth slowly let go of the crystal, dropping to the floor. He caught her before she crashed into the hard ground. Carrying her bridal style, he rushed her to the infirmary. The second he got there, Elizabeth was rushed off by Carson and a few other doctors. Ten minutes later, as Rodney was pacing around the room, Carson walked in.

"How is she?" Rodney immediately stopped pacing and walked over to Carson.

"She is fine ... in a sense. Her brain patterns are sporadic. It is working overtime. Usually, when you sleep, your brain rests, but her's isn't. Though she is stable, she is not reactin' to pain, noise or anything else for that matter. If her brain keeps it up, she might not make it."

Rodney dropped back into his seat, his head falling in his hands. For the first time he could remember, he cried.

Elizabeth didn't know what was going on. Was she dead? Where was she? Why was she even here? Looking around, she closed her eyes as a powerful emotion took over her. Screaming silently, she closed her eyes as the pain sliced through her body. Tears fell from her eyes from the intense pain as she curled her hands into fists. As suddenly as the pain had come, it was gone. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing now. Heck, she didn't even think she had eyes now. She tried to speak, but found no sound coming from her mouth.

_Where the hell am I?_ She thought to herself. Suddenly, she felt surprise, but it wasn't her own.

_Hello?_ Came a second voice. It was Rodney.

_Rod! Where am I?_

_I don't know. Why can I hear you?_ In the real world, Rodney jumped from his seat as he heard Elizabeth's voice in his head. He looked around, but all he saw was her unmoving body on the gurney.

_Elizabeth, what is going on? What did the device do?_

_I don't know! Go check it, I think it will be OK to change Teyla and John back now._

Rodney ran out of the infirmary straight into his lab. Checking the crystal and running a few quick tests on it, he realized that Elizabeth was right. He smiled, grabbing the three crystals and running into the lab that the ageing device was in. He quickly hooked them up. Finally stopping and growling.

_Elizabeth, please stop humming. Now._

_Upps. Sorry._

She was quiet for the next five minutes while Rodney finished hooking up the crystals. Grabbing one of the test rats, he stuck it in front of the device and activated it, getting out of the room and entering the observation room. Tapping his fingers impatiently while Elizabeth continued to hum in his head, Rodney waited for it to finish charging. The device finally finished and the all too familiar red flash shot out. It was gone in seconds. Running down into the lab, Rodney looked at the mouse. It worked. Running into the infirmary, Rodney stopped when he saw the doctors standing over Elizabeth.

"Whats wrong?" Rodney asked, looking over their shoulders.

"She has no brain activity," Carson said, pointing to the brain monitor.

"Well, duh, that's because she's in my head," Rodney said, smirking and pointing to his head. When Carson looked at him like he was nuts, he stopped. "I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Carson asked.

"Elizabeth somehow downloaded herself into my head.

Ten minutes later, everyone was in the briefing room, talking about the current situation, using Rodney to communicate with Elizabeth. Carson was asking her how she was feeling, she said she wasn't. Carson asked if she was OK, she said she didn't know. Finally, Carson asked how she did it. Rodney listened to Elizabeth yap in his head and finally told everyone what she had said.

"She says that she somehow communicated with the crystal, and then uploaded her mind into it. When she realized that she couldn't disconnect, she tried going somewhere else. That just happened to be my head."

"How do we disconnect her?" Carson asked.

"I don't know. But we are finished with the device and we want to change John and Teyla back."

Carson looked at him, his eyes wide.

"But Elizabeth said it wouldn't be ready until tomorrow."

"I know, but she did the changes with her mind ... somehow," Rodney said, rolling his eyes. And so, they got Teyla and John into the lab. It had to be done quick, because John would die in a matter of minutes since he was not connected to the ventilator and the machines that helped his heart beat. Rodney was sitting in the observation room, waiting to flip the switch. Carson was doing some last minute fussing over John and Teyla, and the rest of the scientists had been shooed from the room by Elizabeth through Rodney.

"OK, lets go," Carson said, joining Rodney in the observation room.

"Going." Rodney activated the device while Elizabeth worried in his head.

_What if this doesn't work_? She asked, the worry apparent in her voice.

_It will._ Rodney reassured her, flipping the switch. The red beam filled the room once again, and when it was gone, John and Teyla appeared to be about nine or ten. Carson ran from the observation room and immediately checked them out. Smiling, he turned to Rodney.

"I think it worked."

"Of course it worked." _Didn't I tell you?_ He thought to Elizabeth in his head. No response. _Elizabeth? Come on, Elizabeth!_ The sudden energy burst from the crystal that Elizabeth's mind was in must have cause her to be disconnected and thrown from it ... and from him.

Suddenly, another doctor ran into the room.

"Sir?" He spoke to Carson. "Dr. Weir has crashed!" Carson ran out of the room, Rodney close on his heels as the other doctor worked on Teyla and John. Rodney ran ahead of Carson, and he was the first one to enter the infirmary. The thin, flat line on Elizabeth's monitor would haunt him for the rest of his life.

* * *

You know, I have noticed that Rodney says **move** a lot. Like, in the EP's where he is doing something, he will run up, knock someone out of the way and say - Move!

Don't know what that had to do with anything, but there you have it.

_**Please Review!**_


	8. Shopping

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — VIII**

Rodney watched, fear gripping him, as Carson grabbed the paddles and charged them, shocking Elizabeth's heart. Rodney winced as she was shocked again and again. The thin, flat line continued to flow across the screen as Carson tried despertly to save Elizabeth. Finally giving up, he backed away from the gurney. Turning to Rodney, he shook his head. Lowering his gaze, Rodney let only a few tears fall as he dropped into a chair beside the door.

Soon, two other gurneys were wheeled into the room. John and Teyla occupied them. Carson placed a sheet over Elizabeth and went to help John and Teyla. Everyone was glum as they worked only half-heartidly. Soon, John and Teyla were hooked up to monitors to watch their hearts, kidneys and lungs. Both were breathing without machines, and their heart-beats were strong. Both looked the same age; nine.

"You OK, son?" Carson asked, sitting down beside Rodney.

He shook his head, placing his face in his hands. Carson was feeling it, too. He placed a hand on Rodney's shoulder, but the scientist just shrugged it off. Sighing, Carson walked back over to Teyla and John. Finally, he let his own tears fall. For the loss of a leader, and of a friend.

Two hours later, as Elizabeth was wheeled into the make-shift morgue, John woke up. He jumped up in his bed, looking around, his eyes falling on Teyla. Screwing his face up in concentration, he fingered the necklace on his neck. He looked around the rest of the room.

Carson noticed him awake and walked over, smiling slightly. It looked to John like Carson had been crying.

"Who are you?" John asked, frowning.

"I'm Dr. Carson, lad. What do you remember?" Carson feared this would happen. John would remember what had happened on Atlantis when he was four and five, but his memories would be all mixed together since then. John seemed deep in thought for a minute, then looked back at Teyla, pointing to the necklace he was wearing.

"I remember her. She gave me this when I was ... five, I think. Um, then I remember my foster family." His face went dark as he said this. Carson nodded and patted John on the back.

"That's Ok, lad. Get some sleep."

John nodded and leaned back on his bed, turning on his side and looking away from the doctor. He closed his eyes, eventually falling asleep.**  
**  
_John was seven. It was his seventh birthday. Three years since his mother had died, three since he had last seen his brother, and two years since he came to live with this family. Sighing, he pulled himself from his bed and looked around his room, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He shared a room with another child that the family had adopted. He was five, and didn't like to be awoken early. Walking around the small room, John searched for his clothes and threw them on before walking down the stairs. _

When he reached the kitchen, he saw his foster mom, Becky, and his foster dad, Louis. They were in their late thirty's and couldn't have children of their own, so they adopted. After they had had John for a year, Becky got pregnant. Soon after the baby was born, John and Kenny, his adoptive little brother, were pretty much ignored.

"John, please wake Kenny," Becky said, trying to get the baby girl, Danielle, to be quiet. John nodded and ran back up the stairs, not looking forward to waking Kenny.

Later that day, at school, John realized he would rather wake Kenny up a hundred times then do this again. He was putting his books in his locker when Jerry, his worst enemy, walked into him, making both of them drop everything. And that's how John ended up in a strangle hold.

He had made the mistake of getting into a fight with Jerry. Bad move. Then he yelled at the principle after getting sent to the office. Worse move. When he got home, he had a black eye, and many, many forming bruises. Kenny was as happy as could be. He'd made a new friend!

Big whoop.

His new friend was spending the night at the house, which meant that John had to deal with two five-year-olds while trying to sleep. They laughed, giggled, and made the bed squeak in ways John didn't know it possibly could from all of their moving. Kenny's friends name was Dillon. The next day was report card day. John opened his and sighed.

Spelling: D, Science: C, Social Studies: B-, History: C-, Physical ED: A+, and Math: A+.

_Kenny was ecstatic. He had gotten straight A's! _

_Bigger whoop. _

_His foster dad wasn't happy, and grounded John from anything that didn't have to do with school. Video Games, free-time, friends. Yea right, like he had any._

_And that was about the life of Johnathan Nathanael Sheppard_.

The next morning, John awoke and looked around. He saw that Tayle, or Teyla, he still wasn't sure, was still asleep. Everyone else looked sad. Carson came over and poked John in the arm with a needle, filling it with blood. John smiled brightly.

"What's wrong? You all look like someone died."

Carson just nodded. _Oops, bad move, John_, he thought to himself. "Who?" he asked, softer this time.

"A good friend," Dr. Carson said, pressing some cotton to the puncture wound and walking off. John propped himself up on his pillows, watching as the people passed by.

_As I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take._

Looking over at Teyla, he remembered the time he was four, when he'd given a kidney to save her. Pulling up his hospital shirt, he looked at his scar. Frowning, he looked around. Why was he here? How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was going to sleep at home. Sighing, his head hit the pillow again as he fell back to sleep.

Rodney sat in his lab, half-heartidly poking at a machine, not even noticing when it blew sparks in his general direction. He was thinking hard about something Elizabeth had said right before they changed Teyla and John back.

_I'll be OK, Rodney, you just have to look in the right place._

He had thought she was talking about getting herself out of his body, but that didn't seem to be the case. It just didn't make sense. Sighing, he stabbed his fork into his meat loaf and dropped his head onto the table, trying not to start crying again. He picked something up and began reading it, to distract himself. Not working. Standing, he decided to go for a walk. As he walked, he tried to clear his mind of everything but what Elizabeth had said.

What had she meant? It _had_ to mean something.

Suddenly, he came to a halt. That was it!

Running back to his lab, he grabbed something before running to grab Carson, hauling him into the morgue. He was smiling.

"Rodney, what are we doin' here?" Carson asked, trying not to look at Elizabeth.

"She's alive!"

When Carson looked at him like he was crazy, Rodney pulled back the sheet from Elizabeth's face. He placed his hand against her cheek. It was slightly cold, but not nearly as cold as it would be if she were truly gone. Carson frowned, placing his stethoscope against her chest and listening.

"Rodney, she doesn't have a heartbeat."

"Keep listening," Rodney said. He was sure, this had to be it. Tapping his foot impatiently, he waited. Finally, thirty seconds later, Carson gasped.

"Her heart just beat!"

* * *

"It was something she said to me right before she ... died, I guess. I am thinking she downloaded herself into a small corner of her mind, so when the energy boost from the device activated, it wouldn't affect that small part of her mind, only her body. She also slowed her heartbeat and work her body has to do to help it heal faster," Rodney said, digging through some papers.

"How?" Carson asked. That was the million dollar question. Rodney sighed.

"I don't know," he said, cheerfully. "I really don't care, though."

Carson was surprised. When someone was put in a life and death situation, the first two things Rodney said were 'Cool!' and 'How?'.

"How do we get her out?"Carson asked.

Rodney smirked.

"Thought you would never ask." Now, that was more like Rodney. "I have an idea." Jumping up, he ran from the room. Carson shook his head, following the bubbly scientist.

Two hours later, everything was set up. Rodney's theory: If it was an energy burst that put her in there, how about one to get her out? Well, no one had understood what he had said at first, so he put it into simpler terms. Or, as he put it, so _small minded_ people would know what he was talking about.

He paced back and forth as the paddles charged. That was what Carson was using. The paddles charged at 100. Too much higher, and he risked stopping her heart. Even at a hundred, he still risked stopping her heart.

Rodney was nervous. Carson took a deep breath.

"Clear."

Everyone backed up as Carson placed the paddles on Elizabeth's chest. He shocked her. The machine she was hooked up to flat-lined for a second, then the steady beeping that indicated a heart beat filled the room. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Carson packed the paddles up again.

"I think it worked."

"When will she wake up?" Rodney asked, hovering over Elizabeth.

"Who wake up?" A third voice cut in. Everyone turned to see John sitting up in bed, his hair sticking up in spikes. Rodney wanted to laugh.

"Elizabeth," he said, walking over to the little kid. John grinned, showing off his many missing teeth.

"Who's that?"

And so, the story began.

Days, then weeks passed, and Elizabeth still had yet to wake up. She was in a self-induced coma, Carson said. It had helped her to reserve most of her memory. He was sure she would have some memory loss, though not much. Rodney was with her a lot of the time, that is, when he wasn't working on a way to get her out. Finally, the day Teyla and John were released from the infirmary, she woke up.

"Ugh ... what happened?"

Rodney was sitting beside her, reading a book at the time. Jumping a little, he looked over. Smiling, he called Carson.

"Hello, Lass. how do you feel?"

"Fine."

Carson checked everything anyway.

"Do you have memory loss?"

"What happened?"

"That's a yes," Rodney said, smiling. "Well ... Short version or long?"

"Short," Elizabeth said, holding her pounding head and looking around.

"You connected with the crystal, downloaded yourself into it, downloaded yourself into my mind, then almost died."

Elizabeth didn't speak, her mouth wide open. Rodney just smirked. As it turned out, Elizabeth remembered everything except from the time she touched the crystal to when she woke up.

John and Teyla were as loud and noisey as ever, and eight instead of ten.

* * *

Two weeks later, John and Teyla were bouncing up and down on the ramp of Stargate Command. They had used their ZPM to bring the two kids back to earth to go shopping. The Daedalus wasn't due back for a month, and they had limited clothes for the kids. They _needed_ more. Both were eight, as it seemed that Rodney had programed the device wrong, and the clothes they were wearing when it happened wasn't going to get it.

John was currently running circles around the floor while Teyla was doing cartwheels. General Hammond was just sitting in the control room, his eyes wide as he watched the kids run around. That was _not_ the major he had sent to Atlantis. Elizabeth walked up behind the kids and made them stand still, walking single file out of the 'Gate room. General Hammond led them, speechless, into the briefing room. Teyla and John sat across from each other, immediately flicking a piece of flint back and forth. In the room was Dr. Daniel Jackson, Col. Samantha Carter and Teal'c.

"Hello!" John said loudly. Teyla looked up and waved, flicking the piece of lint directly into Daniel's face. She looked stunned for a minute, then both her and John broke out laughing. Daniel smiled, picking the lint from his glasses.

"Elizabeth, any chance they had sugar before you got here?"

"Sorry. They wouldn't eat lunch unless they got some candy."

Sam laughed.

"Well, welcome to Stargate Command."

* * *

"_Noooo_!" John tried to take his hand from Elizabeth's, using his feet to hold him from the bright pink room that was filled with girl 'items'. He grabbed onto a shelf, holding him back. There was no way he was going in there. Elizabeth sighed, taking Teyla's hand and letting go of John. She stood in front of him, her hand on her hip. She didn't look too happy.

"Why not?"

"I can't go ... " He paused, lowered his voice and pointed to the girls section. "_In there_."

Teyla giggled, looking around all the clothes. She was not used to such a selection.

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked. She didn't understand why men, of any age, hated shopping for underwear, bras, Etc. _They_ weren't the ones that were going to use them.

"Because it has _girl_ stuff."

Elizabeth smiled, realizing it was going to be a rude awakening for John when he had to shop for his wife's pads in twenty or thirty years. Laughing at the thought, she bent down beside John, letting go of Teyla's hand. She was off in a second.

"Look, I'll make a deal with you. You come in, and I will let you get two toys instead of one."

John seemed to think this over for a second, his eight-year-old mind working overtime.

"OK. But I'm not touching anything."

Elizabeth laughed, taking John's hand again. They went off to find Teyla. She was looking at the pants. Elizabeth knew this was going to be a long ordeal.

An hour later, John was laying on his stomach on the floor outside of the dressing room, flicking a price tag back and forth. Sighing, he looked up at Elizabeth. She was waiting patiently for Teyla to come out. Getting clothes for John was easy, but none of them knew Teyla's size, so in every different item, shirts, pants, and socks, she had to try on several different things. Elizabeth was just going to guess it on undergarments.

"I need help!" Elizabeth walked into the dressing room, closing the door behind her. Teyla couldn't button her jumper. John groaned, flipping on his back, to find himself staring up in the face of a tiny little girl. Shrieking, he scrambled up off the floor and ran to hide behind a rack of pants. The little girl giggled, running after him. Thank God Elizabeth saved him at that moment, saying it was time to go.

As they were about out of the 'girl's dress barn', she realized she had forgotten something. Running back, she grabbed a training bra for Teyla. She wouldn't need it now, but who knew when they were coming back? She threw it in the cart beside John. He scotched as far away from it as he could, sticking his tongue out at it like it was a live animal.

* * *

Next stop was toys. John immediately picked out a 500 piece puzzle and a chemistry set, while Teyla piddled. She was deciding between a giant stuffed teddy bear and a po-go stick. Elizabeth, finally at her ropes end, said she could get both.

"Let's go home."

"But I'm hungry!" John complained. Elizabeth threw her head back, sighing at the sky ... pink ceiling. Teyla nodded in agreement with John and both started hoping around in circles. There was no way they were going to eat anything with sugar in it.

They got sugar. As of now, John was licking at a slushie and Teyla was eating an ice cream cone. They had both eaten healthy food before, and then begged for desert.

"OK, you two, we need to stop and pick up tooth brushes, shoes, and books."

They headed to the shoe section, John patiently waiting as the shoe salesmen found the right size for him. He had selected black sneakers with lime green striped up the side, and glow in the dark laces. Teyla had gotten a pait of pink sandals with flowers on them, and a pair of sneakers as well, but hers were pink with purple stripes and laces.

Next was the toothbrushes. It was easy. John got blue, Teyla, pink.

Books was the part Elizabeth was dreading. John sat down in front of the activity shelf while Elizabeth explained to Teyla what books were. Picking out a few, she was done quick. Men, or boys, never pick anything quickly. John picked a puzzle book, a 100 page book on animals, and a book about electronics. Elizabeth was surprised. She would never guess John Sheppard was the kind of kid to go for the hard stuff. Shrugging, she threw a few more books in the cart, just because, and they were off. Just as she was about to get in line to pay, she remembered something.

"Swimming clothes!" She had totally forgotten, and since the two were going to be staying on the mainland a lot, they needed new suits. Needless to say, their old ones wouldn't fit. John's might, because he was such a skinny kid, but he and Teyla would get new swimsuits, anyway.

"What's this?" Teyla asked, holding up a bikini and wrinkling her nose at it. John had selected a pair of black shorts with flames running up the side, but Teyla was still choosing.

"Something your not getting," Elizabeth said, taking the suit from Teyla and putting it back on the rack. "How about this?" She held up a bright pink suit with flowers on it. Teyla wrinkled her nose again. "What, don't you like pink?"

"I guess, but not that!"Teyla shifted through the suits for another ten minutes. She finally selected a one-piece light, sky blue suit. Flowers flowed up the side, meeting at the straps that went over her shoulders. The small, hanging bent around the waist made it look cute, too. It came with a thin, swimming skirt that you would wear to the water.

"John?" Elizabeth said, looking around as she added the swimsuit to the pile of clothes that had already been picked out. She looked for John, finally finding him. He was standing up, wearing one of the bright pink bikinis over his clothes. Elizabeth pulled him aside. "John!"

"What?" Him and Teyla started giggling as Elizabeth tried to take the eight-year-old out of the swimming suit. _Boys._

* * *

LOL. I had soo much fun writing that! Hope you had as much reading it. :-)

_**Please Review!**_


	9. Marriage

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the chacters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited. Song: _**I'm Still Here** _by _**John Rzeznik**._

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — IX**

John confidently swung the stick in circles, taking each move and gracefully delivering it. Flinging his shaggy black hair out of his eyes, he grinned as he continued to break each move perfectly. He never fell down, and he never messed up. Swinging the stick in a circle, he ducked down and forced himself forward, sticking his boot into the sand for leverage.

_I am a question to the world,  
not an answer to be heard,  
or a moment that's held in your arms.  
And what do you think you'd ever say,  
I won't listen anyway,  
You don't know me and I'll never be what you want me to be._

Fourteen, tall and strong, John had grown up training the Athosian way. He could beat even Teyla. He let the wind blow through his hair as he continued to practice. He would nail that move perfectly today.

Halling watched from afar as John practiced. He had grown from a clumsy, bumbling little boy into a confident, graceful man.

_And what do you think you'd understand,  
I'm a boy — No, I'm a man.  
You can't take me and throw me away.  
And how can you learn what's never shown,  
Yeah, you stand there on your own.  
They don't know me 'cause I'm not here._

John stopped practicing, driving his sticks into the ground and walking off into the woods, slinging his pack over is shoulders on the way. Smiling and shaking his head, Halling walked back inside his tent.

John ran through the heavily wooded area, jumping over large logs and ducking under fallen trees. There was a grin on his face as he confidently landed in the dirt after every leap and jump.

Finally coming to a halt in front of the large wooden stump that he had sat on with Teyla so many years ago, he sat down and pulled the new pair of Athosain sticks from his bag and his pocket knife, setting to work on carving it out.

_And I want a moment to be real ...  
Wanna touch things I don't feel,  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can the world want me to change?  
They're the ones that stay the same,  
They don't know me 'cause I'm not here._

John used the pocket knife to carefully carve out the vines traveling up the line of the sticks, the flowers already done. The handle was a beautiful black. He'd used two kinds of wood to make them, carving out a hole in the handle and carving out the bottom of the blade half to fit inside the handle. It was beautiful.

The flowers connected to the vines that flowed down the side, meeting up with the handle perfectly. John had been carving them for three months, trying to be done in time for Teyla's birthday. He had tried several times, messing up and having to start again. This time, he had done it perfectly.

_And you see the things they never see,  
All you wanted, I could be,  
Now you know me and I'm not afraid.  
And I want to tell yo who I am,  
Can you help me be a man?  
They can't break me as long as I know who I am._

John blew off the remainder of power on the sticks, smiling and nodding. He was done. Jumping off the stump, he walked through the bushes, trying not to get any thorns in his legs. Hearing the soft, quiet flow of a waterfall, he ran forward to check it out.

Smiling when he saw the beautiful, white water, he made a mental note to bring Teyla there someday. Running forward, he grabbed a vine hanging from a huge oak and pushed off from a large log, forcing himself forward almost ten feet. Letting go of the vine he was holding, he grabbed a second one and used it to flip into the water.

_And I want a moment to be real,  
Wanna touch things I don't feel ...  
Wanna hold on and feel I belong.  
And how can the world want me to change?  
They're the ones that stay the same.  
They can't see me but I'm still here._

He surfaced almost a minute later, smiling and wiping his soaking hair from his face. Diving back under, he went down and touched the sandy bottom of the lake. Grabbing a handful of sand, he resurfaced and looked through it. Finding nothing, he dropped it and peeled off his soaking T-shirt and jeans, leaving him only in his boxers. He began to swim around, realizing he should have taken off his clothes before getting wet. Now, he would have to slosh around all day while he waited for the jumper to pick them up for school the next morning. Smiling, he began to float on his back, fingering the necklace that Teyla had given to him so many years ago.

_They can't tell me who to be,  
'Cause I'm not what they see.  
Yeah, the world is still sleeping,  
while I keep on dreamin' for me.  
And their words are just whispers,  
and lies that I'll never believe._

The leather was worn, but he never took it off. It had broken once or twice, but he always fixed it and put it back. Looking at his water-proof watch, he gasped, jumping out and grabbing his clothes.

Running through the woods, he tried to put his pants on while jumping over logs. Miraculously enough, he managed to stay on his feet. Just as he exited the woods, he pulled his shirt on. Running barefoot through the sand, letting it stick to his wet feet as he leaned down, he resting his hands on his knees. He was wet. Smiling as Teyla approached, he pulled his sticks from his bag and they began.

_And I want a moment to be real,  
Wanna touch things I don't feel...  
Wanna hold on, and feel I belong.  
And how can they say I'll never change?  
They're the ones that stay the same,  
I'm the one now 'cause I'm still here.  
I'm the one 'cause I'm still here ... I'm still here,  
I'm still here..._

* * *

"You win again," Teyla said, admitting defeat and sitting down on the sand, letting her sticks fall to the ground beside her. John smiled and sat down on the sand as well. It stuck to his soaking wet clothes as he did, making him shift. Finally, curiosity taking over her, Teyla asked,

"John, why are you wet?"

He laughed.

"Long story. But have something to show you. Go get your swimming clothes."

Teyla did as she was told, though very cautious as she walked through the woods behind John. He really didn't care, letting the sticks and thorns scratch him as he walked through the woods. Almost half-way there, he placed his hands over Teyla's eyes as they moved along.

"John?" she asked questioningly.

"Just wait. It's a surprise," John said mysteriously. Teyla giggled. Soon, John arrived at the waterside. Smiling, he took his hands from Teyla's eyes. She gasped, putting her hand to her mouth. John smiled at her reaction. It was everything he had hoped for.

"It's ... wow ... John, how did you find this place?" Teyla asked in awe.

The trees hung over the lake, the sun showering it in light. It reflected on the water, lighting it up like flames. The waterfall flowed off of the rock bed, splashing into the lake. The grass overgrew on the bank, flowers mixed in with it, lighting the land up with many colors. It was the most beautiful thing she'd had ever seen.

"I'm glad you like it. I um, found it while I was working on these."

John reached into his pack, pulling the pair of sticks he had been working on for the last few months out of his pack. Her birthday was in two days, but an early birthday present wouldn't hurt anyone.

Teyla fingered the sticks carefully, taking them from John and holding them in her hands. Her fingers followed the designs down to the handles, where she carefully grasped them, giving them an experimental swish. John was still smiling, his head cocked to the side. Finally, Teyla spoke.

"I ... thank you! I love them!" She jumped up and hugged him, the sticks still grasped firmly in her hands. "Wow, they are beautiful, where did you get them?"

"I made them," John said simply.

"Then that makes them even more special." Her face was glowing with happiness as she continued to look over them.

"Your welcome." John smiled. Then, to break the silence that was swept over them, he asked, "Do you want to swim?"

"Sure ... just, give me a minute." Teyla walked off behind some thick bushes to change, while John just stripped down to his boxers. Not much difference between boxers and swimming shorts, is there?

He sat at the water's edge, waiting for Teyla to come out. He tapped his fingers on the log beside him as he swished his feet in the water. Finally, he heard Teyla come out. Turning, his mouth fell open when he saw her. She had gotten a new swimming suit.

"Whoee," he said under his breath, gaping at her. She was wearing a two piece pink swimsuit that hugged her body, and not that he hadn't noticed, but she had really matured in the last few years. John didn't think he would ever see her the same again.

* * *

Two hours, many frogs, and a water fight later, John and Teyla were walking back into the village, John shivering. He was soaking wet. Teyla had decided to pull him back in once he was fully clothed. Now, it was fifty degrees outside and there was a very heavy wind. As soon as they approached the tent, John ran inside and grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around his very soaking wet shoulders. Halling raised an eyebrow as Teyla entered the tent, as dry as could be. She plopped down beside John, a large smile on her face.

"Should I ask?" Halling said, raising and eyeborw, walking over and handing John his over-night bag. They were staying in the mainland for Jinto's wedding, then they would go back to Atlantis when the Jumper came back to pick them up for school.

"Sure," Teyla said happily.

"OK, what happened?"

"I dunked John," Teyla said simply, smiling as he stood up, still shivering, and walked into the other section of the tent to change. Halling almost wanted to laugh at the sight of John shivering, soaked from head to toe. Teyla just laid back on the floor. She had thrown her shirt and pants over her swimsuit, but you could see the outline of it through her clothes. Halling frowned.

"Teyla, I don't know that I like you wearing that kind of suit," he said. Teyla shrugged.

"My other one was being cleaned, so Dr. Weir gave me this one. Do not worry, I will not use it unless I have to." Halling nodded as Teyla grabbed her bag, running past the now dressed John and into the room they used to change. John dropped into the spot Teyla had just vacated.

"Where's Jinto?" John asked, just then realizing that he was gone.

"He has gone to prepare."

Jinto, at twenty, was getting married.

"Holy crap! That's today?" John jumped up, his eyes wide.

"Yes," Halling said, smiling. "I suggest you get ready."

John was going to be Jinto's best man, that was not what they called it on Athos, but nonetheless, he had to be ready in about an hour. Jumping up, he scrambled into the changing room, running out a second later when a loud shriek from Teyla scared him. Halling shook his head, walking out of the tent.

Later that day, as everyone gathered for the wedding, John ran in only a second too late. Jinto had the pre-wedding jitters.

"Oh, come on, it'll be OK," John said, straightening Jinto's shirt. The ceremonial clothes they wore were itchy, John thought, scratching his chest where this thin leather rubbed at his skin. His shirt was a sleeveless, leather shirt, and he was wearing similar pants that had leather strings hanging in a line down the side. Throwing on the over shirt, he grinned. The over shirt was like the pants, and the sleeves had thin strings hanging in a line down the side.

John waited until Jinto walked out, following him. Looking around, he was immensely glad he wasn't getting married. He would have fainted. There were at least a hundred people there, including some from Atlantis.

John waved to everyone as Jinto waited, sweaty and nervous, for his wife-to-be, Kelci, to come out. Wanting to bounce up and down from all the excitement, John rocked back and forth on his feet. Soon, Kelci came out and she and Jinto said their vows. John wasn't paying attention. He was looking around the crowd, looking for Teyla. Finally, he found her. She was standing by Halling. John smiled. She was wearing a pink spaghetti strap tank top and cargo pants—what she had brought from Atlantis. She wore a lot of Earth clothes.

"Does anyone object to this bringing together of two people?" The priest said. Jinto looked more nervous than ever. John didn't know what they would have to do if someone did object, but he had a feeling he would find out.

"I do."

Another man, much bigger than Jinto, walked up to the front. Thain was his name, John knew that much. The only other thing he knew was that Thain also liked—or loved—Kelci. The priest handed both Jinto and Thain long, thin sticks. John winced. They looked like they would hurt if you got hit by one.

"May the greater man win." He bowed, taking Kelci's hand, leading her away from the two men. John just stood there, not knowing what to do. He stood back, giving the two men a large area to fight in. Then, it began.

John was amazed at how fast the two could move with the sticks. They circled each other, occasionaly lashing out to each other. John now felt he had a really good idea what was going on. If he ever got married, he would do it on Earth. There was _no way_ he would do this. Wincing as Jinto was hit, he squashed the urge to go out and help Jinto. As well as being trained with Teyla for the past six years, John had also learned hand-to-hand combat.

The fight progressed, Jinto wiping blood from his lip and fighting back. It was a losing battle. He was swaying on his feet, clearly in no shape to fight. John closed his eyes as the stick made contact with Jinto's stomach. Hard.

Closing his eyes, John didn't dare open them for a minute. When he did, he saw Jinto back on his feet, as much as he shouldn't be. Thain gave Jinto one last hit, making him fall to the ground. Shaking, bloody and bruised, Jinto collapsed. Thain smirked, dropping his stick to the ground. John tried to run forward and help Jinto, but he was held back. Looking behind him, he realized that it was Halling holding him.

"It is our custom."

John's shoulder's slumped, watching as Jinto hauled himself into a sitting position, grabbing his stick and, with all the strength he had left, lashed out at Thain. The bigger man was still smirking, paying no attention to Jinto. The lash caught him in the back, the loud snap the stick made on contact breaking the silence that hung in the air.

John felt as though he were seeing things in slow motion. Thain turned around, his eyes falling on Jinto. Jinto dropped the stick at his side, not being able to fight anymore. Thain grabbed his stick from the ground, hitting Jinto again. Screaming in pain, Jinto fell to the floor, his head making contact with it.

The loud, sickening sound made John wince. He pulled himself from Halling's grasp and ran forward, lifting Jinto's head slightly. Upon contact, it had cut open, blood seeping out from a large gash made from the ceremonial rocks surrounding the stage.

"Jinto!" John yelled, glad that Kelci wasn't there. "Jinto!" Dropping his head to his chest, John cried. Carson ran forward, leaning down beside the two boys. He immediately checked to see if Jinto was still alive. He was, but just barely. He knew if they couldn't do something, and soon, he would die. John looked up at Thain. Tears fell from his face, making tracks down his face.

"Why?" John whispered softly, his eyes following Carson as he helped one of the other medics get Jinto onto a stretcher. Halling came over and sat down next to John, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"John ... " He started. John shrugged his hand off.

"Why?" he said again.

"It is a custom. If anyone objects to the marriage, they have to fight the other man involved. It has been that way for hundreds of years."

John stood up, blood still littering his clothes. He held his hands out in front of him. They were covered in Jinto's blood. John looked at Halling.

"Why do people always have to die?"

He then ran off. Halling reached out to stop him, but was too late. Teyla walked up behind Halling.

"Let him go. He needs time," Halling said to Teyla. She nodded, looking down at the floor. Kelci was being led away by her father while Thain was still smiling at his accomplishment. Teyla reached down and picked up Jinto's stick, breaking it in two. Wiping tears from her eyes, she then placed them down in a cross on the floor.

"Let his soul rest peacefully."

* * *

Well, is he dead or not? I didn't originally intend on putting that in there, but when inspiration hits, you gotta write!

**_Please Review!_**


	10. Friends

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — X**

John walked off into the woods, his mind going a hundred miles and hour. He wanted to be OK with the Athosian customs, but he just _couldn't_. Jinto might die, and on his wedding day, of all days. Dropping onto the soft, mossy ground, he put his chin in his hands and sighed loudly.

Why did that Thain guy have to object? If he hadn't, Jinto would be well and happy right now. He wanted Jinto to be alive, he wanted everyone to be happy, he just wanted to disappear for a few days ... Maybe he would. But then, what would everyone think? How would he find out if Jinto was going to be all right?

Sighing again, he dropped onto his back and looked up through the trees and into the sky. There were clouds in the sky. Dark, stormy rain clouds. Then the rain started falling. Softly at first, but then it got heavier. As the rain water mixed with the blood on his clothes and fell off, John just stared up into the falling rain.

It was like diamonds falling from heaven. Little, tiny drops of water falling one by one. Draping his arms out, he welcomed the rain, letting it clear his head of all thoughts. It hit his eyelids, sharp, knife-like droplets piercing the skin covering his eyes.

He just laid there, his thoughts only on Jinto, his best friend. One he might have just lost.

* * *

Teyla sat in the tent, looking around. There was no word from Carson or Dr. Weir yet. Both had gone back to Atlantis.

Sighing, Teyla looked out the door of the tent. Rain fell down, splashing mud up against the side of the tan tent. John was out there, in the rain. It was cold, wet, and Teyla was starting to worry.

"Teyla?" Halling walked up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head from watching the rain fall and and looked into Halling's face.

"Yes?"

"I need you to find John," he said, also worried.

"I don't know where he has gone," Teyla said, confused.

"Yes, but you know better than me where he would be."

Teyla nodded, standing up and throwing on a coat to cover her head before walking out of the tent. Halling watched her go, wondering how things had taken a turn for the worse. Only hours before, earlier that morning, John was practicing his fighting. Now, he was missing and Jinto might be dying. He turned, walking back inside the tent and sitting on Jinto's bed, finally letting the tears he had denied himself fall.

Teyla walked around the woods, checking all the places John liked to go when he was upset, or just wanted to be alone. He was in none of them. Almost about to give up and head back, she saw something. It was the over-shirt to John's outfit. She picked it up, using her fingers to straighten the strings falling down the side. Deciding she was close, she walked on. Finally, she stumbled upon John in a small clearing.

"John?" she asked softly.

"Leave me alone," he said, still laying on the ground. He was just laying there, letting the rain bounce off his face. Teyla sat down beside him, pulling her coat up to better protect herself.

"John, you need to come back. The rain is freezing," Teyla tried, her shoulders shaking from the cold. John still had his eyes closed.

"No."

"John, please."

Teyla reached out and touched his shoulder. He looked up, water mixing with the salty tears in his eyes. He finally looked at her. Both were freezing, water soaking them to the bone. The rain was not letting up, in fact, it was getting harder. Teyla found it harder and harder to keep from shivering. John noticed and moved closer, wrapping his arms around her. Teyla finally let go. The pain from what happened to Jinto finally finding its way out.

She cried, tears falling from her eyes, falling down her face and mixing with the rain as they slowly sank into the ground. John just held her, letting her cry. He had cried all he needed, and now it was Teyla's turn. Standing up, John helped Teyla to her feet and they began the walk back. When they arrived back at the tent, Halling was pacing, waiting for them.

"Oh, thank the Gods."

He ran forward when he saw them. Teyla had been gone for nearly an hour, and he had begun to worry. "You are back."

Both John and Teyla changed into dry clothes and wrapped themselves in blankets. Everyone sat around the radio, waiting for news from Atlantis. Midnight came, and then one O'clock. Teyla had fallen asleep and was leaning on John, her hair framing her face. Halling was sitting by the fire, looking into the embers as the flew up from the stove. John just looked at nothing, his eyes focused on the fire, but not really seeing it.

"What will happen with Kelci?" John asked out of the blue.

"She will marry Thian if Jinto does not survive," Halling answered, not turning from the flames.

"What?" John burst out, then looking down at the sleeping Teyla, lowered his voice. "Why?"

"When there is a fight in a marriage, if the man intending to marry the woman does not live, the fighter will marry the woman. She can refuse, is she wants, but it will mean banishment," Halling explained, finally turning around to look at John.

John didn't speak anymore. He just thought. Why was it that way? It was unfair. Unfair to Jinto, unfair to Kelci, and unfair to anyone that ever got married. Sighing, John leaned his head against the wall, slowly falling into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, John was awoken by the sound of thunder. It was loud. Teyla was already awake, sitting by the fire, her blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Halling was sleeping, having finally dropped off into sleep sometime in the early morning. John sat up, walking over to Teyla and sitting down next to her. There were no lights on, so the only light came from the fire. It cast an orange glow on her face, making it seem lit-up. Neither spoke, just taking comfort in the others presence. Finally, more than half an hour later, the radio crackled. John jumped up, grabbing it and answering it.

"Hello?" he said, gripping it with white fingers. Halling awoke and walked over, gently taking the radio from John.

"Dr. Weir?"

"Hello, Halling," she said softly, her voice choking up.

"Is Jinto alive?"

"I'm sorry, Halling."

And that was the last thing that Halling heard. He dropped the radio, falling onto the floor and putting his head in his hands. Jinto was gone.

* * *

_John was sitting in the pew of the church, looking up to the large, wooden casket. His foster parents were crying, as was Kenny. He didn't understand why he wasn't. His little sister had passed away from a beating she had received from her uncle. She was only a baby. It wasn't fair. Kenny was seven, and John was eight. He didn't understand why he couldn't cry. Danielle was dead, and he couldn't cry. Dropping his head to his chest as the preacher continued to speak, John twiddled with his fingers. _

His foster uncle brought back bad memories. His dad was just like him. He had killed the most important person in John's life, his mom. Danielle's uncle had killed her, the only child that her parents could have. He had gone to jail, where he belonged. Danielle had been in the hospital for weeks, hanging onto only a thread of her life. Her mom and dad were with her constantly, so John had to stay with one of the neighbors, as he had no friends. Kenny stayed with his friend, Caden.

"May she rest in peace," the priest finished, closing the bible and bowing his head in prayer. John followed suit. After the service, they all went outside to where Danielle was being buried. The tiny casket was slowly lowered into the ground, right next to the baby that had been buried when Ms. Jensen had miscarried at five months. The baby was a little boy, named Daniel. That is where Danielle had gotten her name. In loving memory of her brother.

That night, when they got home, John cried.

* * *

**Two Years Later**

Kelci walked around the camp, her little baby boy in tow. He was grinning, his brown eyes shinning. John and Teyla saw them coming toward the fighting ring. They smiled, putting down their sticks and walking up to Kelci. Only weeks after Jinto's death, she announced that she was pregnant. The baby was Jinto's. That was the reason they had sped up the wedding. They wanted their baby born in wedlock. Deres Jinto looked exactly like his dad. John smiled, picking up the toddler and swinging him around in the air. He had become like a father figure to the little boy. He taught him everything, wanting to give his friend's child the best start in life he could.

"How is Deres?" Teyla asked, smiling.

"He is good," Kelci answered, wincing and chewing on her fingernails as John did something dangerous with Deres. He just shrieked in delight. Kelci had refused to marry Thain, but her pregnancy had kept her from banishment. Her and Teyla had become good friends following the death of Jinto. Just then, as John placed Deres on his shoulders, Dr. McKay/Weir walked up. She, Rodney and Faith, their baby girl, were staying on the mainland for a while.

"Hi!" John said, walking over and smiling down at Faith, sticking his tongue out. The eight month old laughed, whacking at an imagery object over her head. John grinned, looking from mother to daughter. "You know, she looks a lot like you." John observed.

"Thank you," Elizabethsaid, beaming.

Teyla walked over as well, her and Kelci getting into a conversation with Elizabeth. John placed Deres onto the ground, kneeling down beside him.

"Hey, squirt, what say we go do something and leave the _women_ alone?"

Deres nodded, clapping his tiny hands together. John smiled, taking the baby's hand and letting him walk. He had just learned a few months ago, at a year old, and he liked to walk everywhere. Eventually, Kelci turned around, and seeing John finally pick Deres up and place him in his shoulders, smiled.

"He will make a great father some day."

* * *

Hours later, Kelci and Deres had gone back to their small tent. Elizabeth had given Faith to Rodney to take care of, and Teyla and John were practicing their fighting. Right now, Halling, Elizabeth and Ronon were watching John as he was training Teyla in hand-to-hand combat. He stood behind her, showing her the proper stance to use when blocking her stomach and chest. He then tried to get through, but she effectively blocked him. Smiling, he then let her attack him. She spun around in a circle, taking him be surprise and catching him in the stomach. He said something none of them heard. Teyla smirked, turning around and letting him show her how to attack by means of grabbing the neck.

"John has asked for Teyla's hand in marriage," Halling said out of nowhere. Elizabeth turned her head sharply, ripping her gaze from Teyla and John and stared at Halling.

"Come again?"

"John has asked for Teyla's hand in marriage," Halling repeated, smiling.

"Well, I'm not surprised ... well, I am, but I have seen this coming for quite some time. Took him long enough."

Halling snorted. Ronon followed suit.

"And it did not take you and Rodney forever?" Ronon said, smirking.

It was true. Eight years to get where they were now. It took them two years to finally admit their feelings, four years for rock head Rodney to finally propose, and one more to finally have Faith in their lives.

"I guess so," Elizabeth admitted, smiling as she watched as Teyla effectively kicked John's butt. He stood up from the ground, grinning as he grabbed their training sticks. He said something, but this time, Elizabeth could hear.

"I bet I can still win in stick fighting."

Teyla took the challenge and soon, they were off. Elizabeth winced as stick made contact with skin. She knew she could never do anything like that. It had to hurt. Teyla appeared to be getting the upper hand in the fight until John surprised her with an attack, grabbing both ends of his sticks, bending his knees, one foot forward so he was only up to Teyla's waist. He took the sticks together and used them to make Teyla fall backwards. He caught her, gently placing the sticks on her throat. Elizabeth was amazed by how quickly he could move. But then again, she shouldn't be. When Teyla and John were older, he had learned quickly. John had only been training for a year, and Teyla her whole life, but he was nearly beating her then. But now ... he was able to move faster than ever before.

"I win," John announced, offering a hand to help Teyla up. Elizabeth turned to Halling again.

"I bet I could take him down," Ronon observed, obviously twitching to go and fight someone.

"What did you say?" Elizabeth asked, a question to Halling's earlier statement.

"About John's request?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Elizabeth nodded. "I said I would be honoured."

"Has he asked her?"

"No, I do not think so."

The three watched for a while longer, Rodney soon coming out to watch them as well, little Faith in tow. She was walking now, but just barely. At eight months, she was an early walker. Rodney walked up to Elizabeth, kissing her on the cheek and handing Faith over. She looked up at her mom, a loud squeak coming from her. John turned, smiling at the baby girl.

"He likes kids, doesn't he?" Rodney asked, observing as John made funny faces at Faith. She was giggling the whole time, her cheeks bright red.

"Well, he's a kid at heart himself," Elizabeth replied, grinning at the baby. It took her long enough, but she was finally where she wanted to be.

* * *

John was nervous. Today. Today, he was going to ask the question that would change his life forever. In a good or bad way, he just didn't know. He was going to follow the Athosian customs. Which meant he had to present Teyla with a gift upon asking for her hand in marriage. If she said yes, they would wear the rings which meant that were to be married. Upon marriage, they would each cut their palms and press them together, the scars left behind would prove their joining.

Pacing around the small wooded area, he waited for Teyla. He was going to ask her at the small stump he had gone so many years ago when Teyla had found out about her father's death. It held a lot of meaning to them both, and John thought it would be the best place to ask Teyla the life-altering question.

He paced around, fingering the gift he was giving Teyla. It was a necklace. He had bought it while on earth with the money he had won from a bet. A bet on when Faith was going to be born. He had guessed may August 21, the day before she actually was born, so he was closest. Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps startled him from his thoughts.

Spinning around, he saw Teyla coming toward him. He was nervous. No, nervous didn't even begin to describe what he was feeling.

"Hello, John," she said, smiling. John forced a smile, his hand clutching the tiny box in his pocket.

"Hi, Teyla."

"Is something wrong?" Teyla asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes ... no, I mean, uh ... " John stuttered Teyla laughed lightly. "Not really."

"Why have you called me here today?" she asked, perching on the stump beside John. He just grinned lopsidedly.

"Um ... I have something to ask you."

"Really?"

_Boy, sheisn't helping!_ John thought. _Does she have to make this harder than it already is_?

"Yea ... "He seemed to be having a real problem coming out with it. Thoughts like_, Oh, boy, what if she says no? _and_ Why am I doing this?_ Were flying through John's head as he watched Teyla play with a stick. She was paying attention to what John was saying, or trying to say

"What is it, John?"

"Will you do the honour of becoming my wife?" John blurted out. Teyla's mouth fell open, her eyes wide.

"I..."

* * *

Ahhhhhh! _Ducks from large objects fans are throwing at her_. Heelp meee! OK, just please don't hurt me for ending it there. I just thought it would be a good place to end it. Evil? Why, _yees_, I am!

_**Please Review!**_


	11. Love

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — XI**

"I..." Teyla was speechless. She looked up into John's face. She could read him, as always. He was worried, scared, but most of all, she could see the hope in his eyes. She could see the hope in his eyes, and she could feel the happiness in her heart. Through the years, she'd felt her feelings soar from friendship to love. Finally, with a smile on her face, she said, "Yes."

"Yes?" John asked, as if not believing it. Teyla's smile just grew.

"Yes."

"Yes!" He jumped up, grabbing her around the waist and swinging her around in the air. The second her feet touched the ground, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. Teyla sighed happily. She didn't ever want to leave his protective arms.

John finally let her go, pulling the small box out from his coat. He opened it, reveling a small, but beautiful ring. It was on a 12k band and had a small, dark red ruby in the middle. Surrounding the ruby were two small diamonds on either side. Teyla gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. John just continued to grin like an idiot.

"It is beautiful, John."

John took the ring out of the box, sliding it onto Teyla's finger. It fit both Earth and Athosian customs. On Athos, you had to present a gift to the one marrying you. On Earth, it was a ring.

"I..." John started. Darn, it was so hard to say this in real life, but in movies they just blurted it out. Trying again, he gathered up all the courage again. "I love you, Teyla."

She smiled.

"I love you, too."

* * *

John was nervous as they walked back to the village. He was happy, but worried. They had decided not to announce their plans for marriage right away, but they were going to tell those close to them. Walking inside the tent, the saw Elizabeth, Ronon, Rodney, and Faith waiting for them. John sighed.

"Who told?"

He turned to Teyla and Halling. Halling knew that John was going to ask Teyla, but he didn't know when. Halling just smiled. Elizabeth was over at Teyla's side in a second. Soon, Teyla was showing off her ring, and Elizabeth was gawking over it while Faith tried to take it from her mom's hand and eat it.

"Wow ... " was all Elizabeth said. Faith was a little more wordy, or at least she was trying to be.

"Mamamamama!" she announced, bouncing up and down in Elizabeth's arms, reaching to the ring. Elizabeth laughed, looking down at Faith. Anything Faith could find went in her mouth.

"No, Faith. Not this time."

The little baby just sat back, pouting. She was already beginning to act like Rodney.

Ronon and Rodney walked over to John. Ronon laughed, slapping John on the back.

"I take it she said yes?" Ronon asked, raising an eyebrow at the two women as they continued to laugh over Faith as she tried to eat the ring.

"Yep," John said, glowing. "We've decided not to tell everyone yet, so could you ... " He left it open. Rodney and Ronon nodded.

Later that day, as John sat outside and watched Deres for Kelci, the worst thing possible happened. Teyla had gone to the trading spot to get some food for dinner. As the crops on the mainland got better, they decided to open a trading spot, so everyone would have what they needed. Teyla was looking over wheat for bread as Elizabeth went inside the small shop to change Faith. Turning around, Teyla gasped as she came face to face with Thain.

"Hello," she said coldly. "What do you want?"

"I have come today to ask you a question," Thain said. Teyla crossed her arms, hiding the ring that John had given her. She didn't want to tell everyone yet, much less Thain.

"What?"

"I have come to ask for your hand in marriage."

Teyla gasped, trying not to show her surprise. How could Thain had the nerve to ask her that after killing Jinto?

"No," she said sharply, turning back to the selection she was looking at. Thain decided to push the matter.

"Why not? My father wants me to be married by the end of this cycle."

Teyla turned around to face Thain, her eyes speaking for her.

"Would you like to know why? Because I hate you. Jinto was like an older brother to me, and you _killed_ him. You left Kelci without a husband, and you left Deres without a father. John has been the only thing close to that boy's father in his life, and even he cannot do that. And even more, I am already to me married."

Thain growled, grabbing Teyla by the wrist. She gasped, trying to pull away, but Thain's grip was strong. He pulled her closer, making her drop the bag of items.

"Who?" he asked forcefully.

"It does not concern you," Teyla said, beginning to get scared. Thain just tightened his grip on her, making her wince. She could feel the bruises forming on her wrist already.

"Who?" he asked, this time getting his face up in hers. He twisted her wrist, the skin burning. She tried to hold back tears as he twisted her wrist further. Suddenly, she saw someone approaching from behind her. She tried to hold back a smile as she realized it was John. He came up beside her, taking her arm from Thain's hand. She hid half behind him, now scared of Thain.

"It is him?" Thain said, looking at John, but speaking to Teyla. Neither needed to answer. Suddenly, a smaller figure stepped out from behind John. DerEs was glaring at Thain, his bottom lip sticking out. He was still hanging onto John's leg, but he had come out of hiding.

He stuck his tongue out at Thain. The older man got mad.

"Why, you little..." he stopped his threat in the middle, going after the little child. Deres ran behind John again, tears forming in his eyes. John stepped protectively in front of both Teyla and the little child.

"I won't let you take anyone else from Kelci. She already lost Jinto," John said, blocking Thain from getting to Deres. Thain backed off, not wanting to get into a useless fight. Just then, Elizabeth walked out, Faith in tow.

"What happened? John, why are you and Deres here?" she asked as John gently took Teyla's wrist, examining it. She winced as he did. Huge, purple bruises were already forming, red welts present from where Thain had twisted it repeatedly. Teyla breathed in deeply, trying to hide a wince as John began gently probing the skin.

"I came to drop Deres off at Kelci's place, then I saw Thain hurting Teyla," John answered, finally satisfied that Teyla would be OK.

"Thain? What was he doing here?" Elizabeth asked, surprised.

"He wanted to ask me something, and when I did not give him the answer he was looking for, he began to threaten me," Teyla said, moving her arm to cover the large effected area.

"What question?" Elizabeth inquired, putting the squirming Faith down onto the ground.

"He asked me to marry him," Teyla answered, reaching down to pick up Faith as the little girl pulled on her skirt. Faith immediately laid her head on Teyla's chest, sticking her thumb in her mouth and yawning before slowly falling to sleep.

"Let's go back," Elizabeth suggested.

John nodded, reaching down and picking up the items Teyla had dropped. They dropped Deres off at his mother's then the four walked back to the tent where Rodney and Ronon were talking with Halling. Teyla sat down by the fireplace, still holding the sleeping Faith; Elizabeth soon joined her as John sat down with the guys.

"What took you so long, Sheppard? I thought you were just dropping Derys off," Ronon said.

"I ran into Teyla and Thain."

"Thain?" Halling asked, snapping to attention. "What did he want?"

"I don't know, but he ... " John thought about telling Halling what Thain had done to Teyla, but he thought it was best left up to her to do that. "I don't know."

Later that night, as the sun was setting and Elizabeth was putting Faith to bed, John and Teyla sat outside, watching the sun slowly sink beneath the horizon. Teyla was sitting with her head on John's chest while he slowly brushed his fingers through her hair. Before, they would have considered this too much for just friends, but though they had never done anything physical, they had passed friendship a long time ago. Small touches on the arm, looks, many thing normal people wouldn't consider anything special. But it was to them. Sighing, Teyla looked up into John's eyes.

"I am worried," she said, turning so she could see his face.

"About what?" John asked.

"Thain. Since he has asked me to marry him, when we have the ceremony, he will probably object and you will have to fight him."

John sighed. That could be a problem. A _big _problem. Thain was bigger, stronger, and had been training for many more years than John had. He smiled at Teyla, not wanting her to know how much more worried he was becoming each second.

"Well, we will just have to train some more, won't we?" John said, trying to ease Teyla's concern. It seemed to, but just a little. Everyone would be lucky if Thain decided to back off and leave them alone. But John knew that was very unlikely.

* * *

**Three Months Later**

John sighed restlessly as the women poked him with their pins and needles. He was standing up on a chair, the ceremony clothes being fit for him. He had been standing there for two hours, and yet, somehow, they still weren't done. Which might have something to do with Rodney bringing Faith in. All of the women stopped what they were doing to go see Faith. For thirty minutes!

Finally, they poked him for the last time, saying that he was done, and he could leave now.

"Thank God!" John carefully got out of the clothes and exited the tent, yawning and stretching. The sun was high in the sky, and he was nervous. No, nervous was a kind word. Three days. In three days, he and Teyla were getting married. Thain had pretty much left them alone, but not completely.

Teyla was sitting in her tent, working on her necklace. Her part to the one she had given John so many years ago had broken again, and she was trying to fix it. Suddenly, the door to the tent opened. Teyla looked up, expecting it to be John. Unfortunately, it wasn't. She jumped up from her chair, backing up against the far wall.

"Thain!" she yelled in surprise as he got closer. Finding herself as far against the wall as she could go, Teyla stopped. She frantically searched the room for something she could use. There was the knife she was using to work on the necklace, but she didn't want to use force unless she had to.

"Hello, Teyla." Thain got closer, grabbing her arms and pinning her against the wall. She struggled against him, trying to get away.

"What do you want?" Teyla asked, wishing she had her sticks. If she did, she would at least stand a chance against the large man standing over her.

"You."

He kissed her, forcing her mouth open. Teyla tried to scream, but nothing would come out. Thain pulled back, placing his hand over Teyla mouth so she couldn't scream. Tears were falling down her eyes now as she struggled against him. _John, help me!_ She thought desperately, though she knew John couldn't hear her. _Help_!

Thain laughed, tightening his grip on her as she almost succeeded on getting free. He was holding to tight, that there was no circulation getting to her fingers. Thain forced himself on her again, but this time, she managed to use her foot to kick him. Right where it hurts. As he let go, groaning, she rolled under his arm and grabbed the knife, plunging it in Thain's shoulder and running out. Ten feet from the tent, she ran straight into the arms of John. She struggled against him for a minute, not realizing who it was.

"Teyla, it's just me. Shh, what is it Teyla?" John asked softly, holding Teyla as she collapsed in his arms, crying.

"I-I thought h-he was going to r-rape me..." she stuttered out, her tears coming faster.

"Who?" John asked, although he had a pretty good idea.

"T-thain."

Just then, the man in question came limping out of the tent, removing the knife from his shoulder and throwing it. John saw it right in time, quickly turning around to protect Teyla from the knife. It slammed right into his back, making him fall to the ground. Teyla dropped beside him. He was bleeding, bad.

"Help!" she called, crying. Taking John's hand, she held it. He was still conscious, but not for long.

"I l-love you... " he whispered, smiling.

And then he passed out.

"Help!" Teyla called again, tears streaming down her face as she gripped John's hand tightly. "Help..."

* * *

Weell, there is another chapter after all. I will have it up soon enough.

_**Please Review!**_


	12. The End

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. As of **4/2/07**, this has been edited.

* * *

**Sticks and Snails — XII**

Elizabeth was walking with Faith and Rodney back to the Jumper when she heard Teyla's cries for help. Gasping, she ran in the direction of the the calls, stopping to see Teyla, her arms bruised and bloody, leaning over John's still body. There was a small knife sticking out of John's back, and it looked like it had gone in quite far. Running forward, she dropped down by John. Soon, Rodney and Ronon came through into the clearing. Ronon spoke.

"Who did this?"

"T-thain," Teyla said, still crying as she held her right arm in her left. Ronon looked around him.

"Where did he go?" Ronon asked. Teyla just pointed in the direction Thain had run off to. Ronon turned to Elizabeth.

"He can't have gotten far, can I ... "

"Go." She cut him off, handing him her hand gun. He took it, running off into the woods.

"Carson's on his way," Elizabeth said gently to Teyla after she had radioed Carson and stopped some of John's bleeding. Teyla nodded, still gripping John's pale hand tightly. It was amazing to Elizabeth that John could even get pale. During his time goofing off on the mainland, he had gotten a great tan. Elizabeth put her hand on Teyla's arm, only to have her wince loudly and rip it away in reaction.

"Teyla, what happened?"

She didn't answer. Sighing, Elizabeth went back to caring for John the best she could.

* * *

Ronon ran through the woods, the wet branches slapping at his face and arms as he ran through them. He could only see a few feet in front of him, the brush was so thick. Wiping water from his eyes, he continued to jump every stump, duck every branch, and weave in and out of every tree. He would catch Thain if it was the last thing he did.

Barely missing a large tree right in front of him, Ronon was forced to slow down. He kept running at a good pace, but not nearly as fast as he would have liked. He knew that, if he didn't go faster, Thain would get away. If he didn't slow down, since he couldn't see anything, he risked hurting himself and not being able to carry on. Deciding to risk it, Ronon sped up again. As he jumped a large puddle, he saw something flash through the rain. A sword. There was a sword glinting in the little sunlight there was. Ronon stopped running, slowly inching forward to where he saw Thain. He was resting his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths. He saw Ronon coming.

"Ahhh!" Grabbing his sword, Thain started attacking Ronon. Grabbing the thing nearest to him, Ronon started fighting back with a large, thin stick. It was slick, and he couldn't hold it well with his fingers. As it slowly slipped from his hands, Ronon watched as Thain forced his sword down with a force that could kill anyone.

* * *

"Charge to 200!" Carson yelled, grabbing the paddles with his bloody hands and setting them on John's chest, waiting until the machine had them fully charged and shocked John. No response. "Again! To 300!"

Teyla tried to hold back tears as she watched from the gurney across from John's. The nurse was checking her out, making sure that Thain hadn't actually done anything to her. She was fine, she knew that, but John was dying. His blood littered the floor. Bloody gloves, scrubs and tools also lay on the floor, discarded when no one had time to put them up right. Teyla winced as John's body was shocked again, the force of it making his back arch. Carson shook his head, ready to put the paddles back.

"No!" Teyla said, dissolving into tears, she dropped her head into her hands, her tears falling fast. "Please, don't give up..."

Carson knew that there was little he could do for John, but, deciding to give Teyla some comfort, he pulled the paddles back out.

"Charge to 350," he said, shocking John again. A loud, shrill beeping filled Teyla's ears as she looked up, bright red tear tracks present on her face. The machine John was hooked up to had a small, pulsing line going across it. He had a heartbeat. "He's alive! Get him into surgery!"

Three hours later, Teyla was laying on the gurney. She was dressed in white scrubs and resting peacefully. The nurses had given her something to help her sleep, because she was so nervous, and couldn't sleep without it. Elizabeth, Rodney and Faith were in the waiting room, waiting for information on John, and Ronon as well. He hadn't reported in, and everyone was worried. John had crashed three times as well, having to be shocked many, many times. He was in post-Operation now. It was touch and go from there. He might live, he might not. Carson walked up to Elizabeth.

"He's alive. The knife hit his lung, and did a lot of damage. He also lost a lot of blood, and we couldn't give him too many transfusions because of his blood type, but Teyla did give some. Not nearly enough, but, with what we got from Earth two weeks ago, it just might be enough. He is weak, and if his lung doesn't heal right, he will have major problems." Carsom smiled weakly, walking off to see how John was doing. Collapsing back in her seat, Elizabeth took the restless Faith from Rodney and sighed, saying a quick prayer for John.

* * *

Quickly rolling out of the way of the sword, the shard blade hit only his arm. He had a nice, long, deep gash on his forearm. Standing up, Ronon took one of his many knives from his hair and threw it at Thain. It hit him right in the chest. The knife was small, and though it did damage, it wasn't nearly enough to stop him. Ronon grabbed a large log, throwing it at Thain. Stumbling to his feet, he ran to try and find his gun. He must have dropped it while running...

Finally, he found a large knife. It was sitting in a stump, looking like it had been placed there on purpose. Not caring where it came from, Ronon grabbed it and hid, waiting for Thain to find him.  
Not a minute later, Thain showed up.

He was holding the sword, making patterns in the blood that Ronon had left on it. Smiling, Ronon jumped out from behind the tree, plunging the knife in Thain's old wound, making him scream out in pain. Dropping to the ground, Thain grabbed the knife with shaking fingers, pulling it out of his shoulder. Throwing the kinfe aside, he stood on shaky feet. Ronon promptly tripped him, pushing a knee into Thain's back and tying his hands together.

The storm had gotten worse, and Ronon knew there was no going back. Throwing Thain over his shoulder, careful to jar his wound, he started walking, soon finding a small cave and climbing in. Free from the rain, Ronon threw his head back and sighed, watching Thain struggle on the ground, trying to get out of his bonds. His cut was bleeding very badly. Sighing, and not wanting to but having to, Ronon bandaged up Thain's arm.

* * *

Teyla woke to coughing. Lifting herself up onto her elbows, she looked around the infirmary. Smiling when she saw John, she tried to get out of the bed. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she fell down. One of the nurses ran over, helping her up and back onto the bed.

"You should not get up just yet. We gave you a muscle relaxer to help you sleep, so you don't quite have your land legs back," the nurse said gently. Teyla nodded, turning on her side and watching John as he slept. He had a tube in his mouth, and as he coughed, it got worse because of the tube limiting his activity. Carson walked over, giving John medication through his IV. He then turned to Teyla.

"Hello, Lass. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. How's John?" Teyla asked, laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling.

"He's fine for now. He made it through the night, and he's breathing with the help of the tube, so if nothing takes a turn for the worse, he should be fine. Shame, though. Nearly dying when you are seventeen." Carson smiled, placing his hand on Teyla's arm and giving it a squeeze before walking off. Laying her head back on the pillow, Teyla slowly drifted into sleep.

_"What do you want?" Teyla asked, wishing she had her sticks. If she did, she would at least stand a chance against the large man standing over her._

_"You." He kissed her, forcing her mouth open. Teyla tried to scream, but nothing would come out. Thain pulled back, placing his hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream. Tears were falling from her eyes now as she struggled against him._ John, help me!_ She thought desperately, though she knew John couldn't hear her._ Help!

_Thain laughed, tightening his grip on her as she almost succeeded on getting free. He was holding to tight, that there was no circulation getting to her fingers. Thain forced himself on her again, but this time, she managed to use her foot to kick him. Right where it hurts. As he let go, groaning, she rolled under his arm and grabbed the knife, plunging it in Thain's shoulder and running out. Ten feet from the tent, she ran straight into the arms of John. She struggled against him for a minute, not realizing who it was._

_"Teyla, it's just me. Shh, what is it Teyla?" John asked softly, holding Teyla as she collapsed in his arms, crying._

_"I-I thought h-he was going to r-rape me..." She stuttered out, her tears coming faster._

_"Who?" John asked, although he had a pretty good idea who._

_"T-thain." Just then, the man in question came limping out of the tent, removing the knife from his shoulder and throwing it. John saw it right in time, quickly turning around to protect Teyla from the knife. It slammed right into his back, making him fall to the ground. Teyla dropped beside him. He was bleeding, bad._

_"Help!" She called, crying. Taking John's hand, she held it. He was still conscious, but not for long._

_"I l-love you ... " he whispered._

_And then he passed out._

_"Help!" Teyla called again, tears streaming down her face as she gripped John's hand tightly. "Help..."  
_  
Teyla bolted up in bed, breathing heavily. She'd had the same nightmare again. She was dreaming of when John was dying in her lap, his blood everywhere. Looking over, she saw John again. This time, the tube was removed. Carson had had to remove it because John had a bad cough, and coughing with something down your throat is not good. He still had an oxygen mask, though. Teyla stood, carefully this time, and walked over, sitting in the chair beside his bed.

"Hello, John," she said, not expecting an answer. He turned his head to the side, cracking his eyes open the smallest bit.

"Are you an angel?" he asked, closing his eyes against the pain he was still feeling.

"No, John. It is just me."

"Oh, so it is an angel."

Teyla laughed, smiling. She had John back and everyone was going to be OK.

* * *

"Charge to 150!" Carson shouted. John and Teyla watched from the other end of the room. It had been three days, and the harsh storms had kept Ronon and Thain out of reach. Thain had died on the way up. Carson was trying to bring him back now. As much as he hated the man, he was a doctor, and he couldn't let Thain just die. "I've got a pulse."

Soon, Thain was taken into protective care, under twenty-four hour guard. John was going to be released in a week, and the wedding had been bumped up until John could walk again. Carson had said that John was lucky he could even stand. The knife had hit him in the back, raising his chances of being paralyzed. But he was fine, Ronon and Thain were fine, and Teyla was fine.

* * *

"Does anyone object to this joining?" The priest asked. Both John and Teyla were hoping against hope that no one would. "No one? Then, Teyla and John, please cut your palms and be joined."

John took the knife from the priest, gripping the jeweled hand and pressing the blade into his palm. It sliced through the skin. Wincing, he handed the knife to Teyla. She looked up at him, uncertain. He nodded, assuring her with his eyes it would be OK. Pressing the blade to her palm, Teyla took a deep breath before cutting through her skin. She winced, a few tears coming to her eyes as the cut went a little deeper than she would have liked. John reached his un-cut hand up, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears. Then, they pressed their palms together, the blood running down their arms.

"You are now one, never to be pulled apart. Many blessings from the ancestors to you, and may you bring forth healthy off-spring." The priest bowed as the crowd cheered. Pulling their hands apart, John pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, gently taking Teyla's hand and wrapping it up. The blood seeped through quickly. His cut wasn't as bad.

"Let's go see Carson," he suggested, taking Teyla's hand. They walked down to where their friends were waiting. Deres ran up to John, screeching and hugging him. The kid was hyper today. John's bad. He'd given him candy.

"Hey, guys." John ruffled Deres's hair, lifting the kid into his arms. Hours later, as Teyla and John entered their tent, John turned to Teyla, smiling.

"You know, I've been thinking about what the priest said about off-spring."

Teyla laughed, smiling brightly.

* * *

**One Year Later**

"Lisa?"

"Katrina?"

"I like that!" John said, looking down in his arms where his baby girl lay. She looked exactly like Teyla, but she had his blue eyes. She was beautiful. "Katrina Lilith Sheppard."

Teyla just smiled, watching her husband play with their daughter. John stuck his tongue out at her, making the baby girl laugh. He kissed her on the head, smiling at Teyla.

"Now, about a brother for Katrina..."

**THE END  
**

* * *

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